The Noumea Aquarium

Not having much to do and wanting to get out of the sun for a bit I went to the Noumea aquarium. World class in every way this aquarium unlike many around the world uses an open circuit system. What does it mean? Simply put they pump seawater directly from the bay into their tanks. After passing through the tank the water is sent back to the sea. Most aquariums use a closed circuit system. They fill the tanks with seawater and filter, adjust and otherwise manipulate it to suit the inhabitants. The advantage of an open circuit system is that the water contains the perfect balance of micro nutrients, salinity etc... The disadvantage is that the residents are pretty much exposed to the same risks as their free brethren ie.: red tides and such.
This big guy just wanted to get his picture taken! He paraded for me right on the other side of the glass following every move I made. He (or she?) is a lion fish. It looks incredibly delicate as it swims. It somewhat looks as though it is flying through the water flapping it's wing like fins. Beware though, every spine that makes up his fins is armed with a barb that contains a venom! Excruciatingly painful but rarely fatal. If you get stung put some hot water compresses on the wound. Heat destroys the venom. I thought that was good to know. In case I ever meet one face to face.
I watched Mr. Turtle for at least 45 minutes. Good thing there where some benches! Mr. Turtle is a hawksbill turtle and he seems to be a very intelligent creature. In the picture he's in his little resting spot. Every 5 to 10 minutes he'd go around the tank touching the glass with one of his forepaws as if he was trying to find a breech to escape. It was one of those bittersweet moments. Sweet because I got to see this magnificent creature. Bitter at the realization that he would probably live out his life looking for a breech that will never be there.

From what I've seen in the brochures and displays these Phosphorescent corals are found only in New Caledonia. Don't quote me on this though. They glow in various shades and no I haven't retouched the picture, they really look like that!

Now here's an odd looking fellow!!! He's a dragon headed sea snake. Even though it is only 3feet long this bugger scares the shit out of me. To top it all off his bite is very venomous. The only comforting thing to say about him is that he's very rare and lives on the other side of the barrier reef.
I've tried to make these two stand out in the picture but their camouflage is, to say the least, very very good. These are two of the dreaded stonefish and you can tell how they came about their name. Yes, there are two of them in the picture. Hint, look for eyes on the reddish rock in the middle ground! Each of them carries 13 spines on their backs that inject a highly potent venom into any fool who would step on them. The stings can be fatal and if no serum is on hand the wound should be bathed in water as hot as possible because once again the venom is destroyed by heat. Another good piece of information to know but wearing shoes while going out to the reef is a better option in my mind.

This is one of the only places in the world where nautili are kept in captivity. The picture looks a bit odd and that's because there are blue lights in the water to recreate their living environment. They are part of the cuttlefish and octopus family. A nautilus swims with it's shell pointed in the direction it wants to go and he propulses himself with the 30 or so tentacles hidden under the shell like trap door. They are very old, dating back to the dinosaurs and very little is known about them. A baby nautilus was born here in 2000, the first to do so in captivity. Some of the reproduction cycle is still unknown to scientists.

In all I spent somewhere around 3hours at the aquarium and had a really enjoyable time. The fascinating thing about this place is that every inhabitant can be found around the island! (you know like seeing lions in Granby zoo and finding out there might be lions in the eastern townships!)

As always you should click on the pictures to get a bigger and better version.