Lisbon Oceanarium

20december2011
Source: oceanario.pt
The Lisbon Oceanarium is one of the largest aquariums in the world, built for the 1998 World Expo held in that city. One of the aquarium's remarkable features is its gigantic central tank housing many large fish.
Visitors are toured through the entire complex, first at the level of the water’s surface, and later past all the tanks to see their conditions under water. The central tank is called the Global Ocean; the four corners of the building are dedicated to the North Atlantic, Antarctic, Temperate Pacific and Tropical Indian oceans. Life in these four regions is exhibited both out of and under the water. There are also various specialised aquariums.

The Global Ocean, the Oceanarium’s central, 5000-cubic-metre tank with very large windows for ideal viewing, houses approximately 100 different species. The water is kept at a moderate temperature to be able to house fish from both tropical and temperate climates. The 7-metre depth of the tank allows visitors to see the difference between bottom-dwellers and pelagic fish. Several shark species, a number of species of ray (including a manta), a sunfish and sea bass can be viewed there.

Naturally, the main attraction at the Oceanarium are the fish. But displays of other animals in the four specific habitats include sea otters, penguins, puffins and other birds and amphibians.