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Pictures from Long Beach Aquarium (Aquarium of the Pacific) **Large Files**

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concept3

Just got back from L.A. visiting my girl- stopped by Long Beach, then La Jolla (apparently pronounced as la-hoya, LOL) and then San Diego zoo. This thread is for the Long Beach aquarium :D

Enjoy!


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One of the first displays as soon as you walk in, a pacific coast biome
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2nd (or 3rd?) display by the main entrance
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Rockfish
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took us a while to spot this guy
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concept3

I'd love to dive in here, actually, on second thoughts, there is a 5 foot leopard shark in there, just like the ones you catch off San Diego on the beach :)
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...and in this tank, amongst the sharks, and yellow tail, and rockfish, there is Homo sapiens. See? They are the ones producing bubbles!!! :D (He was actually giving us lessons through his scuba gear, and there was someone on the outside talking to him live...pretty cool)
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"symbiosis" in action. You try to catch the lobster for dinner, the moray bites you.
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Never seen a real live sand dollar. Here they are, and they are quite fuzzy.
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a swell shark egg case. Very very neat to watch this little guy not being claustrophobic and even made a 180 inside his egg. I wanted to go outside after we watched him for more than 10 minutes!!!
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concept3

more more more to come. I'm going to bed! I'll have them yup in the afternoon since they are mostly saved already on my photobucket account............ stay tuned.
 
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JerseyWendy

Terrific pictures, Merv. I'd love so visit that place one day.

I cracked up when you said you wanted to go outside after seeing the swell shark in the egg case for a while. I know I'm a bit claustrophobic, too.

---
Wendy
 
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concept3

thanks guys-

here are more:


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Cold water tank:
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The outdoor shark lagoon:
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.....and amongst the tangs in the outdoor shark lagoon, Guess what other pair of fish cleans the tank?!?!? These guys are more than 2 years old, fat and happy eating algae and dodging the sharks-
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concept3

they also had an outdoor aviary full of lorikeets. These guys are adorable, but very very loud. . . and playful!
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and nippy!
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well, I can't forget my boat!
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concept3

all the clowns in here were captive bred and raised-
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and one of my personal favorites- the deepwater reef full of anthia (wooohooooo!!!)
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I want this setup!
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these holding tanks were like 4 or 5 feet in diameter!!!
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the splashzone tank- these were on both sides of the room and were NOT in sync! IT MADE ME SEASICK! It almost had a 3 foot swell, hence the tall tank walls, hmmmm rimless display tank anyone?
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concept3

one of the MANY jelly fish tanks. For some reason, I lost my appetite for Jell-O
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and instead, I started craving for shrimp! Actually, I think these were Langostines. Yummy on the Bar-B
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Another Kelp tank- did you know that Jello has kelp? Toothpaste has Kelp? Did you know that glass has Kelp? Multivitamins have kelp? ARRRRRR----we live in a kelp world! and yes, they are endangered, so we need to thank kelp everyday!
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A very very cold deepwater tank. Yes, cold enough to chill a beer! (notice the condensation?)
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concept3

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one of the many touch tanks- I tried to take one, but she gave me the aqualady gave me the weirdest look as I said, but I can take care of it, and I promise they won't get hurt!
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ummm, disregard the crab. the one outside the tank!
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the glass was really dirty in the bird tank, but this puffin was asking to be in my blog, so here he is posing!
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Ever seen a 30 inch puffer fish?!?!?
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AND WHAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!!

The reef tank!

It had like 3 giant clams, I think I Tridacna gigas, One Squamosa and One deresa. There were other smaller maximas and Croceas amongst coral heads over 2 feet across. I was trying to climb in to frag some SPS, but i couldn't find where the top hinged open :(
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concept3

ooops...missed this one, see the tuh-tle?
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The view on the outside of the aquarium:
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and a random shot of one of the 5 rescued seals they are keeping there. Odin is one of the oldest ones, over 28 years old, retired, and blind. Apparently, they can also "hear" with their whiskers.
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concept3

HERE are my favorite pictures of the day.... Plexiglass and acrylic is so hard to take pictures on. They make the pics look weird, and with the majority of the tanks being circle, it even made more of a challenge.


but, here are my picks of the day:

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camera: my trusty NIKON D200
Lens: Nikon VR 18-200mm with hood lens
Flash: SB800, most of the time off
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

gorgeous. I think the last time I was there was back in 2000 when I had to attend a wedding (not in the aquarium). Only thing that I didn't like was the traffic getting there. :(

I think you could add more pics to this thread - it's great!
 
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JerseyWendy

Phenomenal pics, Merv! Now' admit it, you and your girl want a colorful parrot, RIIGTHT? ;D I love lorikeets (minus the mess they make). But boy are they playful. Are your shoes in one piece? LOL.

Sorry, but I'm a HUGE bird person as well.

---
Wendy
 
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