Aquarium of the Pacific

~While in Long Beach, California (just south of Los Angeles), I found some time to visit the impressive Aquarium of the Pacific. Here are some of the better pictures from my time there:

A sea-horse.

"You're going to need a bigger boat..."

A colorful Lorikeet.  There was a group of these birds in a closed-in area called the "Lorikeet House" where you could walk about, the birds flying freely around you. They are very gregarious and friendly, and have no compunctions about landing on your shoulders or arms.

Penguins!

High and dry.

A jellyfish, very small but very colorful.  The edges of the jellyfish that look ridged in this picture are actually bio-luminescent, with rainbow-colored lights flashing down them like LCD screens.

  

Moon Jellyfish.  These specimens are hand-sized, but they can grow to be over a foot in diameter. Prey that brushes against their tentacles is paralyzed and drawn into the stomach that comprises much of the central bell.

This bird tried his hardest to swim through the glass. He failed.

Gina the octopus, one of two octopuses currently at the aquarium. The octopus is one of the most intelligent of sea creatures and they have been known to break out of captivity and pull themselves through dry land for short stretches, but they have a relatively short lifespan.  In contrast to giant squid, octopuses are not very large (Gina's body is less than a foot in diameter, although her tentacles make her seem much larger).  They can also change color to evade predators, and to communicate mood (red means they're angry; Gina is actually orange-ish in this picture, which means calm).

A California King Crab, also known as the Spiny King Crab for obvious reasons. These fellows live deeper underwater than most commercially-harvested crabs, so they're not a major food item. 

A Japanese Spider Crab.  The body is about a foot in diameter, and its long legs make for a vaguely menacing appearance.  Despite the name, they are not related to spiders. 

EXCUSE ME.

This diver delivered a live presentation while in an aquarium tank; another presenter asked him questions by radio while the audience watched through the tank wall. There were other divers in the tank as well, cleaning the rocks and coral. One particularly playful fish named "Bubbles" loved to swim through the bubbles from the diver's mask. There was also a small (and presumably satiated) hammerhead shark swimming around, who obligingly swam by the window several times. I think he was preening.

Clownfish, and other tropical fish in a tank with colorful corals.

The purple and orange organisms are also coral, but of a variety that lives deeper in the ocean. Coral are actually colonies of tiny animal life. Coral living close to the surface gets over 90% of its energy from symbiotic photosynthetic algae living inside of it, while these darker, deeper corals cannot get energy from sunlight and so must subsist on plankton and other passing microorganisms.

Bangaii Cardinalfish, also known as the Kaudern's Cardinal.

A Leafy Sea Dragon. What amazing camouflage!