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“Nemo” travels by FedEx to the Ocean Explorium
- By Ocean Explorium
- Published 06/25/2009
- Press Releases
Ocean Explorium
View all articles by Ocean ExploriumThe animals arrive
It’s been a long anticipated journey, but they are finally on their way – marine animals are arriving at the Ocean Explorium tomorrow.
And “Nemo” will be making the voyage to his new home on a plane in a FedEx box!
“The anemone fishes, or “Nemo”, as they’re often known, are coming to us from an aquaculture supplier in Florida,” explains Ocean Explorium curator Warren Gibbons.
“They’re making the journey in triple layered bags with enough saltwater and oxygen for 48 hours. The bagged fish will be packed inside rigid Styrofoam boxes with heat packs to keep their environment at an optimum temperature of 78°F. Then they’ll be enclosed in heavy-duty cardboard boxes, which are transported with all the other, more typical air cargo–flowers, food, furniture, that kind of thing.”
Mr. Gibbons says the objective is simple – to keep the fishes alive and healthy.
“So everyone involved in the chain of custody from the people who culture the fishes, to the suppliers and to the transport companies – everyone has to be sure to maintain the oxygen, temperature, and pH levels to optimize the water quality. We all do all we can to ensure the fishes have a healthy environment and remain safe and well for the entire journey.”
The anemone fishes will be the first marine animals to arrive at the Ocean Explorium in downtown New Bedford, which will open daily to the public on July 4.
Later in the day, seahorses and jellyfish will arrive, having traveled by road from their former home – a jellyfish breeding laboratory at Boston’s New England Aquarium.
“The New England Aquarium has been kind enough to donate some of their animals to this exciting new project here in New Bedford,” said Mr. Gibbons. “They are giving us some baby seahorses, which they have bred. They’re only about 1” tall, and they’re already eating frozen and prepared foods.”
Jet-lagged fish?
But the longest journey of all is being undertaken by a group of coral reef fishes and invertebrates, which are flying to the Ocean Explorium in New Bedford from Los Angeles, California. They’ll be arriving in style in specially designed “Nemo” colored boxes with orange & white stripes.
And they’ve already traveled around the world.
“The animals, which are coming to us from Los Angeles, are originally from the South Pacific islands--Fiji, Tonga, Australia, Jakarta, Indonesia, and Hawaii,” said Mr. Gibbons. “A handful are also from the Red Sea. Most of the fishes are collected from the wild, and islanders also farm the corals and clams in lagoons near reefs.”
The animals arriving tomorrow will be the first to make their home in the new exhibits, which have recently been built and installed in the Ocean Explorium’s exhibition area.
Even the rock inside some of the tanks has come from the other side of the world.
“The live rock in the living coral reef and some smaller tanks comes from Fiji,” explained Mr. Gibbons. “It is originally land-based rock, which has been put into lagoons near coral reefs where it has become colonized with life. After 2-3 years, it’s ready for harvest.”
The rock is a crucial part of keeping the Ocean Explorium’s animals alive and healthy.
“Live rock is the ecological and biological backbone of the aquarium’s life support system,” explains Mr. Gibbons. “It’s covered and filled with an enormous array of different life forms--alga, sponges, bacteria, copepods, amphipods, crabs, shrimp, and corals too.
“It’s like importing a ready made ecosystem into your aquarium.”
The animals arriving tomorrow will be the first of more than 100 fishes and over 1000 invertebrates, which will ultimately be on display. These exhibits will add to the Explorium’s existing focal exhibit, Science on a Sphere®, and a new innovative children’s activity center called Discovery Bay. They are all part of New Bedford’s public center for ocean science education.
Some 35 different species of fish (including angel fish, blennies, butterfly fishes, cardinals, gobies, tangs, and wrasses), 20 different species of invertebrates (including snails, crabs, hermit crabs, cleaner shrimps, sea cucumbers, and sea stars), and more than 50 different species of corals will be part of the new exhibits at the expanded Ocean Explorium.
For further information, contact Ellen Carpenter on 1-508-496-1514 or ellenbmcarpenter@yahoo.com.au or go to the Ocean Explorium website at www.oceanexplorium.org
And “Nemo” will be making the voyage to his new home on a plane in a FedEx box!
“The anemone fishes, or “Nemo”, as they’re often known, are coming to us from an aquaculture supplier in Florida,” explains Ocean Explorium curator Warren Gibbons.
“They’re making the journey in triple layered bags with enough saltwater and oxygen for 48 hours. The bagged fish will be packed inside rigid Styrofoam boxes with heat packs to keep their environment at an optimum temperature of 78°F. Then they’ll be enclosed in heavy-duty cardboard boxes, which are transported with all the other, more typical air cargo–flowers, food, furniture, that kind of thing.”
Mr. Gibbons says the objective is simple – to keep the fishes alive and healthy.
“So everyone involved in the chain of custody from the people who culture the fishes, to the suppliers and to the transport companies – everyone has to be sure to maintain the oxygen, temperature, and pH levels to optimize the water quality. We all do all we can to ensure the fishes have a healthy environment and remain safe and well for the entire journey.”
The anemone fishes will be the first marine animals to arrive at the Ocean Explorium in downtown New Bedford, which will open daily to the public on July 4.
Later in the day, seahorses and jellyfish will arrive, having traveled by road from their former home – a jellyfish breeding laboratory at Boston’s New England Aquarium.
“The New England Aquarium has been kind enough to donate some of their animals to this exciting new project here in New Bedford,” said Mr. Gibbons. “They are giving us some baby seahorses, which they have bred. They’re only about 1” tall, and they’re already eating frozen and prepared foods.”
Jet-lagged fish?
But the longest journey of all is being undertaken by a group of coral reef fishes and invertebrates, which are flying to the Ocean Explorium in New Bedford from Los Angeles, California. They’ll be arriving in style in specially designed “Nemo” colored boxes with orange & white stripes.
And they’ve already traveled around the world.
“The animals, which are coming to us from Los Angeles, are originally from the South Pacific islands--Fiji, Tonga, Australia, Jakarta, Indonesia, and Hawaii,” said Mr. Gibbons. “A handful are also from the Red Sea. Most of the fishes are collected from the wild, and islanders also farm the corals and clams in lagoons near reefs.”
The animals arriving tomorrow will be the first to make their home in the new exhibits, which have recently been built and installed in the Ocean Explorium’s exhibition area.
Even the rock inside some of the tanks has come from the other side of the world.
“The live rock in the living coral reef and some smaller tanks comes from Fiji,” explained Mr. Gibbons. “It is originally land-based rock, which has been put into lagoons near coral reefs where it has become colonized with life. After 2-3 years, it’s ready for harvest.”
The rock is a crucial part of keeping the Ocean Explorium’s animals alive and healthy.
“Live rock is the ecological and biological backbone of the aquarium’s life support system,” explains Mr. Gibbons. “It’s covered and filled with an enormous array of different life forms--alga, sponges, bacteria, copepods, amphipods, crabs, shrimp, and corals too.
“It’s like importing a ready made ecosystem into your aquarium.”
The animals arriving tomorrow will be the first of more than 100 fishes and over 1000 invertebrates, which will ultimately be on display. These exhibits will add to the Explorium’s existing focal exhibit, Science on a Sphere®, and a new innovative children’s activity center called Discovery Bay. They are all part of New Bedford’s public center for ocean science education.
Some 35 different species of fish (including angel fish, blennies, butterfly fishes, cardinals, gobies, tangs, and wrasses), 20 different species of invertebrates (including snails, crabs, hermit crabs, cleaner shrimps, sea cucumbers, and sea stars), and more than 50 different species of corals will be part of the new exhibits at the expanded Ocean Explorium.
For further information, contact Ellen Carpenter on 1-508-496-1514 or ellenbmcarpenter@yahoo.com.au or go to the Ocean Explorium website at www.oceanexplorium.org
