To most people the Mesophotic Zone is an entirely unknown part of the ocean that very few study and even fewer have physically visited. Yet these areas are more diverse than anticipated and contain a cornicopia of life from the…
Public Aquariums
What happens to California if sea levels rise? Check out this interactive map
Despite being in the midst of a significant four-year drought here in California, there are some are predicting a super storm in the next few years based on historical evidence and frequency of massive storms. What would happen if the state was hit…
Waikiki Aquarium management has head in the sand about recent animal deaths
The Waikiki Aquarium has been a bleeding edge aquarium institution in the world for the better part of a decade. We aquarists have revered and longed to see this world-famous display of marine life in Hawaii ever since it was…
Centropyge abei and Chaetodon smithi: Black and yellow superstars of Waikiki
If you ever visit Hawaii and don’t stop by the Waikiki aquarium, consider yourself a felon and a convicted criminal for breaking the fish geek code. In a small public aquarium within the Waikiki neighbourhood of Honolulu lives two mega superstars of…
Awesome Fish Spotlight: Steinhart’s studly Genicanthus lamarck
Like the insanely beautiful traffic cone coloured male Genicanthus semifasciatus in the Dallas Aquarium, Steinhart in the California Academy of Science has its own studly Genicanthus to boast. G. lamarck is a common species with a rather large distribution in…
Steinhart Aquarium’s Caribbean display is a truly realistic representation of a biotope
Few set ups truly elicit fascination and marvel quite like those done in a biotope fashion. A biotope refers to an area of uniform environmental conditions which provides a specific niche for a particular set of organisms. Because aquarists are spoilt for choice…
Happy Taxonomist Appreciation Day!
Today, March 19th is Taxonomist Appreciation Day. This rather obscure day may not sound familiar to everyone, but it should, and hopefully it will gain a stronger following in the years to come. Today we say thank you in appreciation…
Steinhart’s trick to decompress fish showcased on PBS
You might recall the hyperbaric chamber designed by scientists at the California Academy of Sciences Steinhart Aquarium. A recent story done by KQED-TV, the local PBS station in San Francisco, showcases the engineering needed to bring fish to the surface…
7 Questions with Steinhart Aquarium’s Matt Wandell
We thought it would be fun to do a series of “7 Questions” with people in the industry and hobby. Our first candidate is a Matt Wandell, a marine biologist at the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences…
CAS finding success with hyperbaric chamber to decompress fish
The California Academy of Sciences is finding success in decompressing reef fish from depths around 300 ft. thanks to a unique hyperbaric decompression chamber that provides a safer alternative to piercing the swim bladder. The CAS’s Matt Wandell used a…