Oceans - Entrance

July 9th, 2012.

How does the Indianapolis Zoo's aquarium compare to Omaha Zoo's...are they of comparable quality? I know that Indianapolis has dolphins and seals while Omaha does not.

Just for starters here's an almost complete list of the animals in/out the building.
California Sea Lion
Harbor seal

Gentoo penguin
King penguin
Southern Rockhopper Penguin

Longhorn cowfish
Ocellaris Clownfish
Bat star
Slate pencil urchin
Chocolate chip sea star
Orange clownfish
Cowrie
The True Tulip snail
Cleaner shrimp
Olive surgeon
Candy stripe
Crimson anemone
Green Sea Urchin
Blood sea star
Powderblue surgeonfish
Spotted unicornfish
Vlaming’s unicornfish
Bannerfish
Bird wrasse
Grunt sculpin
Yellow Watchman Goby
Neon goby
Copperband butterflyfish
Percula clownfish
Bluestreak cleaner wrasse
Christmas wrasse
Clown tang
Raccoon butterflyfish
Longhorn cowfish
Asfur Angelfish
Yellowbar angelfish
Indian Threadfin
Black Triggerfish
Blue bumphead parrotfish
Coral Hogfish
Atlantic trumpetfish
Slingjaw wrasse
Emperor Snapper
Green Brittle Star
Cownose ray
Moon jellyfish
Purplemouth moray
Green moray
Cleaner wrasse

Longsnout seahorse
Pot-Bellied Seahorse
Lined Seahorse

Smooth Dogfish

They both have fantastic penguin exhibits (plus Omaha has puffins), and Indy has large mammals such as seals, sea lions, walruses and polar bears and a terrific shark touch tank and a few other oddities. Omaha has more of a proper aquarium with many aquatic tanks that contain an octopus, Japanese giant crabs and many species of fish. Both are amazing, and Pittsburgh is another zoo with a top-notch aquatic facility.

An excerpt from my 2012 Indy Zoo review:

Oceans – This massive building contains a variety of surprises. The famous Dolphin Dome is the first piece of innovative exhibit design that stunned me. To be able to watch a 15 minute dolphin show that was better than the standard one (complete with tricks as well as a conservation message) was a thrill, but to then walk beneath the dolphin pool and watch such sleek animals swim overhead was startling and unique. The glass was sparkling clean, the area was spacious for visitors, and the experience was unforgettable. I'm a huge fan of all sorts of tunnels (shark tanks, polar bear exhibit in Detroit, dolphins, etc) and it gives the visitor a fantastic viewing opportunity.

The Oceans complex also contains a good walrus exhibit with a single animal as well as a male California sea lion, a cool touch tank where there were about 20 dog sharks swimming in a large pool that is perhaps one of the best touch tanks in the United States, and the second innovative exhibit design that truly impressed me concerned penguins. The exhibit was quite impressive and it contained 3 species (king, rockhopper and gentoo) and was duplicated on the other side of the hallway. Then there was a large part of the flooring that was all glass and allowed visitors to see penguins swimming under their feet! In 2008 I could see small penguins jump into their pool on one side of the hallway, speed by beneath my sandals, and then pop back onto the second exhibit on the far side. It is a brilliant idea, and why don't more zoos build similar enclosures? The cost factor could perhaps be overwhelmed by the reaction of zoo fans, even though in 2012 I visited the habitat twice and did not see any penguins cross over through the glass.

Oceans has a pinniped exhibit with California sea lions, harbor seals and a grey seal; a large tank with cownose rays and wobbegong sharks, a standard polar bear exhibit that is the only weakness, and a diverse collection of other marine animals. A trio of seahorse exhibits that were circular and perhaps 7 feet in height contained these 3 species: long-snout, pot-belly and lined seahorses. There was a large coral reef tank with moray eels and at least 8 species of fish; a line of approximately 10 standard-sized fish tanks along a wall; and a large and beautiful moon jellyfish exhibit.