Back at the end of November I visited the Biomes Marine Biology Center for the first time. This small aquarium is one that I’ve known about for years, being only 10 minutes or so from where my aunt and grandmother live in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. I’d never visited, however, due to not having time, not having a vehicle, and/or simply not knowing it was a public aquarium. The aquarium is small, located inside what looks like an old warehouse, and is comprised of three rows of tanks. The main row begins with a mangrove enclosure, which is one of only a few examples of natural exhibitry here. The second row (to one’s left on entry) begins with a small children’s play area with mostly pet store species exhibited along the wall. The third row (to one’s right on entry) begins with a small reptile area featuring mainly native turtles as well as some common pet store species. The majority of collection comprises of wild caught native Western North Atlantic species, including many that are rarely seen in captivity. Most of the tanks are your average pet store variety and hold (mainly) smaller fish/invertebrate species or small specimens of larger species. They have a series of larger makeshift tanks as well, most of which look like small touch pools with “do not touch” signs on them. The signage in general is ok but not great. Most species are signed and have a little information on them, but very few include scientific names and there are a few tanks that are completely unlabeled. I asked the owner why there were no scientific names and he told me he used to include them but removed them because they confused visitors… This facility definitely won’t be winning any awards or ZooChat points, but overall it’s a decent and interest place. It’s very clearly someone’s passion project and I think they’ve done fairly well here. The aquarium is only 20 minutes from Roger Williams Park Zoo so I’d definitely recommend checking it out if anyone’s ever visiting the state. I do not know how often the collection changes out, however this was the species list I could identify as of 11/30/18: Fishes Gulf Toadfish Opsanus beta Green Moray Eel Gymnothorax funebris Bandtail Puffer Sphoeroides spengleri Northern Puffer Sphoeroides maculatus Planehead Filefish Stephanolepis hispidus Atlantic Spadefish Chaetodipterus faber Atlantic Sergeant Major Abudefduf saxatilis Norfolk Spot Croaker Leiostomus xanthurus Atlantic Lookdown Selene vomer Atlantic Moonfish Selene setapinnis Black-Tailed Humbug Damselfish Dascyllus melanurus Bicolor Damselfish Stegastes partitus Mangrove Snapper Lutjanus griseus Tautog Tautoga onitis Cunner Wrasse Tautogolabrus adspersus American Conger Eel Conger oceanicus Brown-Banded Bamboo-Shark Chiloscyllium punctatum Chain Dogfish Scyliorhinus retifer Striped Mullet Mugil cephalus Northern Searobin Prionotus carolinus Striped Burrfish Chilomycterus schoepfi Long-Spined Porcupinefish Diodon holocanthus Mummichog Killifish Fundulus heteroclitus macrolepidotus Northern Sheepshead Pupfish Cyprinodon variegatus variegatus Spotfin Butterflyfish Chaetodon ocellatus Four-Spined Stickleback Apeltes quadracus Atlantic Three-Spined Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus aculeatus Great Barracuda Sphyraena barracuda Yellow Crevalle Jack Caranx hippos Florida Pompano Trachinotus carolinus Great Pompano Trachinotus goodei Common Remora Remora remora Little Skate Leucoraja erinacea Bermuda Blue Angelfish Holacanthus bermudensis Grey Triggerfish Balistes capriscus Queen Triggerfish Balistes vetula Hogchoker Freshwater Flounder Trinectes maculatus Striped Searobin Prionotus evolans Atlantic Scup Stenotomus chrysops Silver Jenny Mojarra Eucinostomus gula Summer Flounder Paralichthys dentatus Red-Finned Sharkminnow Epalzeorhynchos frenatum Black Skirt Tetra Gymnocorymbus ternetzi Colombian Tetra Hyphessobrycon columbianus Freshwater Angelfish Pterophyllum scalare Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus Domestic Goldfish Carassius auratus auratus American Eel Anguilla rostrata Pacific Chestnut Moray Gymnothorax castaneus Spotted Scorpionfish Scorpaena plumieri High-Hat Drum Pareques acuminatus Foureye Butterflyfish Chaetodon capistratus Atlantic Reef Butterflyfish Chaetodon sedentarius Black Sea Bass Centropristis striata Striped Bass Morone saxatilis Atlantic Anglerfish Lophius americanus Northern Kingcroaker Menticirrhus saxatilis Squeteague Weakfish Cynoscion regalis Common Pinfish Lagodon rhomboides Spottail Pinfish Diplodus holbrookii Striped Killifish Fundulus majalis Epaulette Shark Hemiscyllium ocellatum Yellow Stingray Urobatis jamaicensis Atlantic Blue-Spotted Cornetfish Fistularia tabacaria Atlantic Needlefish Strongylura marina Red Lionfish Pterois volitans Winter Flounder Pseudopleuronectes americanus Atlantic Striped Blenny Chasmodes bosquianus Feather Blenny Hypsoblennius hentz Dusky Smooth Dogfish Mustelus canis canis Clearnose Skate Raja eglanteria Ocean Pout Zoarces americanus Buffalo Trunkfish Lactophrys trigonus Honeycomb Cowfish Acanthostracion polygonius Scrawled Cowfish Acanthostracion quadricornis Northern Pipefish Syngnathus fuscus Red Grouper Epinephelus morio Glasseye Snapper Heteropriacanthus cruentatus Western Atlantic Sea Raven Hemitripterus americanus Skilletfish Gobiesox strumosus Longfin Bannerfish Heniochus acuminatus Striped Doctorfish Tang Acanthurus chirurgus Pacific Blue Tang Paracanthurus hepatus Yellow Tang Zebrasoma flavescens Short Bigeye Pristigenys alta Slender Sharksucker Echeneis naucrates Convict Cichlid Amatitlania nigrofasciata Blue-Grey Mbuna Pseudotropheus johannii Common Clownfish Amphiprion ocellaris Pictus Catfish Pimelodus pictus Redfin Parrotfish Sparisoma rubripinne Lined Seahorse Hippocampus erectus Unidentified Sparidae sp. Invertebrates Atlantic Pygmy Octopus Octopus joubini Long-Clawed Hermit Crab Pagurus longicarpus Atlantic Horseshoe Crab Limulus polyphemus Forbes Sea Star Asterias forbesi Atlantic Purple Sea Urchin Arbacia punctulata Black-Fingered Mud Crab Panopeus herbstii Common American Shore Shrimp Palaemonetes vulgaris Common European Grass Shrimp Palaemon elegans Coastal Mud Shrimp Upogebia affinis Northern Brown Shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus Short-Spined Brittle Star Ophioderma brevispina Sargassum Swimming Crab Portunus sayi Striped Shore Crab Pachygrapsus crassipes Atlantic Rock Crab Cancer irroratus European Green Crab Carcinus maenas Atlantic Ghost Crab Ocypode quadrata Jonah Crab Cancer borealis American Lobster Homarus americanus Knobbed Whelk Busycon carica Channeled Whelk Busycotypus canaliculatus Brazilian Salmon-Pink Bird-Eating Spider Lasiodora parahybana Unidentified Libinia sp. Unidentified crab sp. Reptiles Green Anole Anolis carolinensis Standing’s Day Gecko Phelsuma standingi Eastern Box Turtle Terrapene carolina carolina Red-Eared Slider Trachemys scripta elegans Common Musk Turtle Sternotherus odoratus Alligator Snapping Turtle Macrochelys temminckii Yellow-Bellied Slider Trachemys scripta scripta Common Mud Turtle Kinosternon subrubrum Western Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta bellii Common Boa Boa constrictor African Spurred Tortoise Centrochelys sulcata Tropical Girdled Lizard Cordylus tropidosternum Amphibians Axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum Yellow-Banded Poison Dart Frog Dendrobates leucomelas Green-and-Black Poison Dart Frog Dendrobates auratus African Clawed Frog Xenopus laevis ~Thylo
That is a large variety of fish species, makes it sound like a bigger facility than it is...there are many species I’m sure I have never seen in my extensive US aquarium visits!
Indeed! I was very surprised with how large their collection really is. Just checked and I got 21 fish lifers and 13 invertebrate lifers at this collection-- and I've seen over 1250 fish and nearly 500 invertebrates (not counting unidentified species obviously). ~Thylo
Is it hard keeping a list for all those animals? I was considering making species life lists but once I realized how hard keeping track would be and considering I, compared to other zoochat members, stink at identifying wild species, I gave up. (I did decide however to make one just for mammals)
I mean I started seriously zoo-going in 2011 (when I was in 8th grade) and have kept track since my very first visit (Bronx) so I haven't had to worry much about trying to figure out what I've seen in the past. I also always take a notebook to the new collections I visit and record every species I see lifer or not* so I've never struggled to keep track. I originally had a Google site where I made pages for specific zoos and made species pages for all the animals I saw there including photos I took (basically a less well done zooinstitutes but with more species info. and less photos). In 2013 I created a new site that just listed all the species I've seen with a species information page for each that included the zoos I'd seen them at and my best photo if I had one. I think it was in 2017 when @TeaLovingDave convinced me that I should make Excel sheets as back-ups in case Google sites ever shut down. I very quickly abandoned the sites after starting the sheets, however, as I quickly learned that they were much, much more efficient (except for including photos...) and have stuck with them ever since. @jayjds2 tells me I should switch to Google Docs, which I might eventually, but for now I'm pretty happy with what I've got. Identifying species has always been a struggle, and it's something I've been trying to work on for years now with a long way to go yet. There are probably hundreds of invertebrates I've seen that I've never identified and dozens of fish, even a few birds and herps. It's always annoying for me, but it's not stopped me yet! To answer simply, no, I don't find it difficult to keep track but I've very rarely had to try and look back in time in order to do so. I think it's fun and useful to keep track. Most people I know tell me I'm crazy for keeping track of fish and inverts but I don't listen to haters like TLD, Jay, and @ShonenJake13 *For returning visits I don't keep as strict a listing except for lifers, especially for zoos I visit often like Bronx. ~Thylo
I have a fish lifelist! But after I got to the second fish I decided to take a break. I’ve been on break for over a year now
In fact I would consider as crazy any people that keep track of tetrapods but NOT fish and invertebrates!
Visited yesterday and I wanted to mention they have a Sand Tilefish Malacanthus plumieri. This individual represents the first wild record for New England!
I visited this small aquarium for the first time yesterday, and it is a very quirky place. The first thing I noticed when I arrived was that there are murals literally everywhere: on the façade, on the windows, on the ceiling, on the floor, you name it. Besides the murals, the interior of the building feels like the inside of a dimly-lit grocery store, but instead of having aisles with shelves of food on each side, there are aisles surrounded on both sides by fish tanks. The tanks themselves are pretty much all pet store quality, although different tanks use sand brought in from different beaches throughout the state of Rhode Island, which I found interesting. They also had a ton of presentations throughout the day, and I went to one in which a Northern Pufferfish was tickled until it inflated full of water. The staff member then picked the pufferfish up in their hands to give us a closer look. After a few seconds the pufferfish deflated and water blew out of its mouth and gills onto the floor, before the fish was returned to its tank. I felt a little mixed about this presentation. It was very cool to see this pufferfish behavior, but I also feel like I’d heard that it was dangerous for a pufferfish to inflate (and also that pufferfish can be hard animals to transfer properly without injuring them). I don’t know much about fish husbandry, so there is a chance I am incorrect and the pufferfish demonstration was fine, but I would appreciate people’s comments if anyone here knows more about best practices for keeping pufferfish in captivity.
I have a species list I meant to post for here but apparently forgot about. It's not a year out of date Also have photos of all the tanks, which is a lot. They didn't have any shows like that on my visit. I'm not sure about the pufferfish, either.
