Vancouver Aquarium

On Friday I went back to Stanley Park on another gorgeous day to visit the Vancouver Aquarium...

The aquarium contains a pretty good mix of aquatic life, with a really nicely setup tropical section that included biotope displays of the African Rift Lake cichlids, South American tetras, and South Asian barbs and loaches.  It was really cool to see the large South American tank containing the largest freshwater fish in the world, the Arapaima, which can reportedly grow up to 15ft in length...

They also had a section on frogs and other amphibians.  I was lucky enough to be following along behind a young girl who was there with two younger friends, and listened how she explained everything to them (I think she had been there a few times).  Several of the displays have "bubbles" in them that let you become part of the display.  Here's a cute shot of the young girl trying to get a close up photo of a frog...

My favourite part of the aquarium was their new display on jellyfish...

They had jellyfish that ranged in size from smaller than a penny to as big as a basketball...

These things are beautiful and deadly, and they move with such grace...



There was a section that focused on the coastal waters of British Columbia.  I never knew that there were so many colorful corals and fish in the cold waters of Canada...

The displays were all clean and beautifully lit...

There were outdoor displays with dolphins, seals, and beluga whales, that also had underwater viewing areas.  The aquarium has two beluga whale cows with calves...



I could have spent a lot longer here, well worth the visit if you ever get the chance!