The ones at Monterey Bay Aquarium are Mola mola. A couple aquariums keep Mola mola, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Osaka Aquarium and Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium come to mind (there are a few others). Okinawa Churaumi had the Sharptail Mola (Masturus lanceolatus) previously, but it is no longer on display. I've tried to find pictures/video/any mention of it online, but I can only find it's page on the Chuarumi Fish Encyclopedia.
Monterey Bay Aquarium has had, on two separate occasions, two juvenile Great White Sharks. Both were held for six months and then tagged and released. Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium had a Great White, which refused to eat, sank to the bottom of the tank and had to be taken off display, then it died. All up it lasted three days, not great.
I'm confused about the Beluga Sturgeon on this list. Around 20 zoos keep this species in Europe, including Leipzig Zoo where I saw them on-display. ~Thylo
Also, I recall hearing that Lion's Mane Jellyfish are actually kept in captivity. Was it Georgia Aquarium? Not sure. Would be amazing to see an Oarfish though. Such Awesome animals!
Lion's Mane Jellyfish aren't too uncommon in aquariums. I've seen them at the Aquarium of the Pacific, National Aquarium in Baltimore, and Maritime Aquarium. ~Thylo
I just found out there is a THIRD extant Great Lakes endemic Cisco species - the Shortjaw Cisco, which is also now very rare and in danger of going extinct. Just goes to show how truly unknown these fish actually are.
Yes, I think the smaller freshwater fish are another group that are quite neglected in terms of conservation.
And personally, I feel like the lifestyles of freshwater fish in general are not as well known as reef fish. Freshwater fish could also be a thing that we could add to The least known animals in captivity.
Yes, I think you are definitely right about that. I don't think that freshwater ecosystems have the glamour and colour of a coral reef for most people, however, for me personally I find them far more interesting.
How about Dialommus macrocephalus, the four eyed rockskipper, from the Pacific coast of Central America? It would fit nicely into a tank between the exhibits for four eyed fish (Anableps species) and mudskippers (Periophthalmus species) - which every good aquarium should have already. The tank would need a wave generator because these little blennies hop around on rocks in the splash zone, hunting small crabs and other invertebrates that live there. Like Anableps each of their eyes is divided into two sections, but in this case the division is not from side to side, but between front and back. The front section of each eye is adapted for vision out of water for hunting their prey, while the rear part sees clearly underwater when they skip back to rock pools to breathe. There is a related species, Dialommus fuscus, in the Galapagos, but I think that would be strictly protected like the rest of the archipelago's fauna.
If we are going to include creatures other than fish in the original question as some zoochatters have then I would like to see more ex-situ programs for some of the more endangered crayfish within zoos that have aquariums : Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish The Pátzcuaro crayfish The common yabby European crayfish Atlantic stream crayfish Stone crayfish
I love crayfish. Every Sunday I take a bike ride down to the park and catch crayfish in the pond. Such interesting creatures.
Also, Spiny lobster. There are a lot more species than you might think, and a few of them are threatened as I understand.
They’re found in a few, but the specimens are always very small. I want to see a massive, 7ft-bell, 120ft tentacle individual floating in a 15 million gallon tank someday! The same can be said for beluga sturgeons and white sharks; some aquaria have had them (with limited success), but never anywhere close to their maximum sze. Imagine watching a 21ft great white swim by overhead! One can dream...
