The island of Pharos lies just off the coast of Alexandria, and was connected to the mainland by a bridge not long after the construction of the city over two thousand years ago. Nowadays, the bridge has been widened to such a degree that the island has become just a continuation of the city’s coastline. Famous as the site of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Qaitbey fort was built over the ruins of the Lighthouse, and one of the other buildings currently on the island is home to the aquarium. The aquarium is very small, and sadly all tanks have a standard (small) size, with only two being any different. As you enter the building, there is a large mosaic on the left, just before the ticket booth, and opposite the small booth is a pool (more of an extended bathtub) with a huge mature loggerhead turtle in. The water is barely deep enough to ensure the turtle can submerge itself if it wants to, let alone swim in it. The main room itself consists around a series of tanks lined up in the middle with a path on each side; you walk down the side of one set, turn around at a fancy freshwater fish tank at the end and walk towards the exit alongside another set of tanks. Animals in the first set of tanks include anemones & clownfish, blood parrot fish, picasso triggerfish, bream, a nile soft-shell turtle (Trionyx triunguis), sailfin tang, catfish, snapper, grouper, black piranha, various wrasse species,blue crabs, hybrid tilapia, moray eels, various dottyback species, some large oscars, a big hermit crab and a young loggerhead turtle. The ‘freshwater fish collection’ tank holds a variety of coldwater fish, including goldfish, shubunkins, koi, angelfish, a cichlid and some Pangasius sp. The second series of tanks hold, among other things; a lone remora, a young nile crocodile, an octopus, red-eared sliders, torpedo rays, mollys and guppies, a selection of pufferfish, lionfish, filefish, squirrelfish, swimming crabs and even more bream. As I mentioned earlier, all the tanks are small, certainly not big enough to hold crocodiles or large turtles (there were two young loggerheads in the same tank last year – good to see that’s changed). It’s sad to see such graceful animals without enough space to just swim. Just from the species list, the aquarium’s collection is very impressive for such a small establishment, but this is just a consequence of being on the Mediterranean coast, with the Red Sea not too far away. An expansion including a large tank for the sea turtles to swim freely would make a great difference, even if it just meant merging two or three of the current tanks, it would be a start.
