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THE BLUE REEF AQUARIUM PORTSMOUTH Text and photographs by David
Marshall The Blue Reef Aquarium, Portsmouth is situated at South Sea and
is set against a tranquil promenade, where you can walk for several miles without
hardly coming across the 'trappings and hard sell' of most other U.K. sea-side
towns | | The
tranquillity of South Sea makes a perfect backdrop for a Blue Reef Aquarium. | The
entrance to the Aquarium |
. As you enter
the Aquarium you are in a section called 'Close Encounters'. At once you are face-to-face
with the most incredible Triggerfish exhibit I have ever seen. Sharing this large
opened topped exhibit are Bull-huss, Sea Bass and Bream. I stood here, transfixed,
for ages. If you have never seen the incredible teeth of Triggerfish then stand
here for a while and these 'show offs' will end their routine by letting you see
their dentition to full effect
. | The
amazing Triggerfish exhibit. |
| | A
'close encounter with Triggerfish' is something the Author will always remembe |
. Three
small native marine displays follow before another spectacular display comes into
view. Here you are looking into a large, and very deep, aquarium that is home
to large tropical marine fish that include White-tipped Sharks, Stingrays and
Panther Groupers. This sets the scene for a further eleven tropical marine displays.
These vary in size and dimensions but what does not change is that they all hold
wonderful displays of fish and/or invertebrates in the best of health. Sue and
I loved the 'World of iridescence' and here the neon blue-green body colours of
fish such as Blue Chromis and Sgt. Major fish glow in specially chosen lighting.
The Nautilus look like remnants of a lost age and some fellow visitors were almost
afraid of these creatures. These displays end with a small walk through 'Sea of
Cortez' tunnel where Pork fish, Ramora, Lipstick Tang and a number of other species
swim above and around your head.
| One
of a number of excellent tropical marine displays. |
|
The amazing 'World of iridescence' display. |
Tucked
away amongst the above is a splendid brackish biotope aquarium with plants that
trail from a wall into the water. Among mangrove roots, rocks and bogwood swim
Scats, Anableps livebearers, Archerfish and Fingerfish. Stunning viewing!
Turn a corner and you are into
'Otter Holt'. The first display is a cylindrical aquarium that is home to a shoal
of variously sized Red-bellied Piranha. 'Wow'! was the spoken word as we found
ourselves against a large indoor pond, fed by a fountain, that is home to 'baby
whale' Mirror Carp and Sturgeon. To see this exhibit is worth the entry fee alone.
This section ends, as the name suggests, with a family of very playful, and beautiful,
Asian Short-clawed Otters.
Although Buenos Aires Tetras and White
Clouds share an aquarium with a large Snapping Turtle we are in a 'fish void'
mini-zoo area known as 'Weird and wonderful'. This section is home to displays
of Green Iguana, Yellow Anaconda, Nile Monitor, various Frogs, Axolotls and Turtles.
Finally, we find ourselves in the
'Blue Reef Nursery'. Here are temporary exhibits of creatures bred at the Aquarium
and others that are in quarantine before moving to permanent exhibits. At the
time of our visit Common Clownfish were 'stealing the show' with their wonderful
body colours. If we forget the fact that some of the species information
boards seem sparse in the information they relay to the visitor, then the Blue
Reef Aquarium at Portsmouth is excellent. We found less native marine exhibits
that we had expected but here they 'push the boat out' to display tropical marine
creatures in all their glory. Sue liked the fact that from the moment you walk
through the door you are met by friendly staff and that soothing, and very apt,
music is played from the beginning to the end of your visit. In conclusion
this Public Aquarium is well worth a visit. You will find an excellent variety
of aquatic creatures on display - all of which are in excellent health and are
well cared for.
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