On my fourth day, I spent the morning with the aquarists for the Atlantic Coral Reef (ACR) and Blacktip Reef (BTR) exhibits, as they prepped the food for that morning. I joined BTR aquarist Emily for the morning feed of the BTR animals.
I got to walk out onto the walkway on the far side of the BTR and throw the surface scatter (krill, small fish, squid, clams, shrimp, etc) into the water for the fish to eat, before rejoining Emily for the ray feeding. There are three whiptail rays and one roughtail stingray in the BTR, and they are all at least three feet wide, with long tails that trail behind them as they swim. Each ray gets fed a few fish at a time, which are skewered on a long pole to be able to reach down to the sand. Also feeding the two zebra sharks, Zuri and Zoe.
After the feeding, I got to help with the transfer of a triggerfish and a boxfish into the ACR. The ACR team and I waited at the loading bay, carefully monitoring the oxygen levels of the water in a transport bin that the boxfish was in. When the truck from the Animal Care and Rescue Center pulled up with a large tub with the two fish. We loaded the tub onto the deck and carefully acclimated the two tubs with water from a pump connected to the ACR. Once the water in both were the right temperature, we transferred the boxfish into the larger tub and wheeled it up to the ACR.
Moving animals between exhibits is a surprisingly intricate process, they have to be acclimatized several times as they are moved, and the temperature and oxygen levels are monitored to make sure they are right for the fish. When we got to the diving deck of the ACR and had cordoned off that area from guests, we had to give each fish three minutes in freshwater to kill any remaining parasites before releasing them into the ACR.
That afternoon I got to see those fish in the ACR when I joined Holly and a new volunteer on his final check-out dive. We did a loop around the tank before they began his remaining skills, and I was able to explore around that area more. I’ve always wanted to dive in an aquarium, and this time I didn’t have any skills to focus on or devote my attention to, so I had the time of my life watching the schools of smallmouth grunts and waving to the little kids on the other side of the glass. Diving at the National Aquarium was truly an exceptional opportunity that I am so so grateful Holly organized for me!
On my final day in Baltimore, I spent the morning at the Animal Care and Rescue Center (ACRC).The team there gave me a tour of the facility and let me join to feed some of the many tanks.
I also got a tour of the areas where they keep their turtles, reptiles, and birds! I also got to see the two blacktip reef sharks they removed from the BTR earlier in the week, and accompanied one of the caretakers as she applied a test treatment to one of the coral samples the Aquarium is caring for as a part of a national restoration project. The ACRC team were all lovely, and it was fascinating to see how they take care of so many animals.
That afternoon, I got to explore the aquarium one last time before Holly dropped me at the airport for my flight home. It feels like my week in Baltimore went by in the blink of an eye! I’m so grateful to Holly for curating such an amazing week full of all kinds of different experiences and behind-the-scenes glimpses. I learned so much and definitely want to visit the National Aquarium again now that I know more about how it’s run. Thank you so much Holly, for being such a welcoming and fun host!
– Sofia