# Public Aquariums



## chris777 (Jun 27, 2008)

What are some of the best Public Aquariums? why do you think so? Don't matter where they are just wondering as i plan on going to some next month.


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## lucid_eye (Apr 12, 2009)

the one in galveston is pretty nice, my favorite is the one at sea world


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

The Baltimore Aquarium had a great South American exhibit when I visited several years ago. The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is a golden oldie. I wasn't impressed with the New York Aquarium in Coney Island.


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## sirdavidofdiscus (Dec 8, 2006)

I liked the tennesse aquarium in Chatanooga. It was all fresh water, no cichilds though. But it's been 15+ years since I've been there.


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## mamospreng (Apr 26, 2011)

The one here in Oregon well the major one in Newport is pretty nice don't remember any cichlids although its been a while.


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

Hi *chris777*,

One of my favorites is the California Academy of Science - San Francisco. I like it because of the large fresh water exhibits. Specifically, it has a large gar tank with huge impressive gars; but for me, the main attraction of the tank is the hundreds of _Herichthys cynoguttatus_ with multiple breeding pairs. The aquascaping has many spawning caves and just about every spot is inhabited by a pair protecting fry.

They also have a large South American tank with Oscars, retail catfish, sevrems, geos and many more large catfish/cichlids. There is a tunnel underneath this Amazon River tank, Here is a picture:










Overall this aquarium has the most impressive freshwater exhibits I have seen in a public aquarium. They also have impressive saltwater exhibits.

http://www.calacademy.org/

Thanks,
Matt


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## mpowers (Apr 8, 2011)

Surprised no one mentioned the Atlanta aquarium. It's been two years since I last went, but the displays were absolutely massive and well worth the coin.

The Chattanooga aquarium is nice as well, been about 20yrs since I've been there. The Va Beach aquarium wasn't overly impressive for the cost of entrance. The Outer Banks of NC has a little aquarium that is quite nice and the entrance fee is more than reasonable.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

The three best public aquariums I have visited are the Lisbon Ocenarium, the Sydney Aquarium, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. All three are absolutely stunning, but if you want to take in all three in one month, considerable travel is going to be involved :wink:

Closer to home, the Greater Cleveland Aquarium just opened in January 2012, and is definitely worth a visit in my opinion. The Cleveland Zoo is also supposed to have some nice setups, but I have not had a chance to see those yet. I've also heard that the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium has some nice tanks, including a fairly new Tanganyika Setup that they stocked with fish from a local breeder who is quite active in the OCA and the GPASI. I've been meaning to check this one out myself.


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