I was very interested to read about the concept behind this new development: to display endangered freshwater fishes and associated species and to promote their conservation. So I was determined to visit it soon after it opened and I took my camera gear to try to record some of the experience. I also want to write about it here, in the hope that some people will also be interested. But I am mindful that some ZooChatters may be planning a visit in the next few months and may not want to know too many details in advance. So I will only write about a few of the species and give generalised comments here. I will try illustrate these points with photos of some of the exhibits, rather than photos of individual fishes, which I will post later. On the other hand, if you want to know all the details that I recorded follow the instructions in the SPOILER. I will also add that I thought that the choice of species included some beautiful ones and some interesting ones, including 2 that have been described recently which I had never seen before. The first thing to say is the Aquarium is not very big, with just 10 permanent exhibits. It is housed in the existing building which was at one time the Cloisters Cafeteria. At the Entrance, you pass a Gift Shop (about which more later) and go through the Aquarium and then pass through the Butterfly House to return to the Gift Shop. The interior of the Aquarium is fairly bright and nicely carpeted. The exhibits are on alternating sides of the walkway, which is not very wide, so it was quite crowded when I visited because the zoo was very busy. Visitors viewing the first exhibit by gentle lemur posted 1 Aug 2019 at 10:07 PM Each exhibit has an information panel with small labels naming each species, but I thought it was odd that this came before the exhibit, so many visitors walked straight past the labels and then asked 'What are those?' Vietnamese stream exhibit by gentle lemur posted 1 Aug 2019 at 10:07 PM Most of the tanks are stocked with young fishes, generally about half grown, so you need to look carefully to see the hillstream fishes and gobies in the first display. The area above the water is due to hold Chinese crocodile lizard(s) but I think they have not been added yet. Several other exhibits also have space for another species above the water surface, but all these other species are invertebrates. Zambian ephemeral pool exhibit by gentle lemur posted 1 Aug 2019 at 10:07 PM The second exhibit holds Nothobranchius sainthousei which has been mentioned in ZSL's publicity material. This is one of the annual killifishes which live in pools that only exist in the rainy season. I liked the underwater parts of these first two exhibits because I thought they were expertly aquascaped to resemble the natural habitats of the fishes: on the other hand I felt the land areas looked like job lots of houseplants. Am I being unfair? I think the same could be said for the other exhibits with planting above the waterline too. The other thing I hated was the video screen showing the labels for the big Amazon exhibit (it is just visible near the centre of the first photo). It show labels for 6 species at a time and changes every minute. Video screen labels by gentle lemur posted 1 Aug 2019 at 10:03 PM As there are labels for 30 species, you have to watch for 5 minutes to see them all, and you will almost certainly have forgotten some of them before you even look at the fishes! Amazon exhibit by gentle lemur posted 1 Aug 2019 at 10:03 PM This exhibit holds some large fishes from Regent's Park and I think it was still maturing. I only saw 4 species but I expect that more will arrive (although I'd be amazed if they can fit all 30 into the tank). I liked the mangrove tank and the smaller exhibits near it. Mangrove exhibit by gentle lemur posted 1 Aug 2019 at 10:03 PM The next section has large windows and a sign saying that it will become the conservation lab. There is only a very simple display of the Nothobranchius at the moment, but there is space for interesting future developments. Future conservation display area by gentle lemur posted 1 Aug 2019 at 10:01 PM A big display for Malagasy fishes comes next. The labels for these fishes are hidden opposite the tank! I was disappointed that I did not see 2 of the species mentioned. They may not have arrived yet or they may be in quarantine or they may have been hiding out of sight. Malagasy exhibit by gentle lemur posted 1 Aug 2019 at 10:01 PM Likewise I could only see 2 species in the Lake Tanganyika exhibit. I'm sure more will follow. Lake Tanganyika exhibit by gentle lemur posted 1 Aug 2019 at 10:01 PM This photo shows one of the problems that ZSL will have. Even the most diligent parents were unable to stop their small children from touching, pushing or leaning against the glass of the tanks. They seem to have been designed to make it easy for children to do so. An hour after the zoo opened there were sticky finger marks on most of the tanks. I can't blame small children for doing this when they are excited at seeing the fishes, but there were no staff or volunteers in the Aquarium to discourage this or to clean up while I was there. Finally to return to the Aquarium Gift Shop: this is not a little kiosk, but a significant space within the building, which could house a very large display tank or extend the area for conservation breeding. I only looked inside briefly, but very little of the merchandise seemed to have anything to do with fishes or butterflies. A few minutes with the zoo map and Google Earth showed that there are 4 other shops nearby, in Hullabazoo (the children's area) about 75m away, the Sea Lion Shop ~140m away, the Station Store ~220m and in the Visitor Centre, at the zoo entrance, 250m away. Is ZSL coming close to Charity Mugging? Spoiler: List of Exhibits, Fishes, Other Species and Water Plants Download the Whipsnade Aquarium Table from the Resources Section. It is a .pdf file
I saw a Chinese crocodile lizard in this exhibit at the Fellows' Preview last Thursday. Thank you for such a detailed review of the new aquarium.
@gentle lemur and @Tim May Do you feel that the new aquarium space is an adequate replacement for the London Zoo aquarium? Is there anything from the zoo's aquarium that you wish had been replicated in the new space that was not?
It's like replacing a really battered old copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, which has quite a few pages missing completely and several more stained or torn, with new modern editions of Twelfth Night, Hamlet and The Tempest. There's also the promise of the sonnets, A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear and All's Well that Ends Well when the enlarged marine section opens in B.U.G.S next year. In other words, in total there will be much less space, but it will be safe and modern with a strong conservation theme. I won't miss the piranhas and most of the bigger species, but there won't be as much variety or spectacle for the ordinary visitor - and we greybeards will miss the history too.
The new aquarium at Whipsnade is only intended as a replacement for the freshwater section of the old London Zoo aquarium; marine species will be housed in the BUGS building at Regent's Park. The recently opened Whipsnade aquarium displays interesting species in attractive exhibits. It is a nice little aquarium but, with only ten display tanks, it is very small compared to the London Zoo aquarium and it is disappointing that there are so few species of fish on display.
Approximately how large are the Malagasy and Zambian exhibits, it's a little difficult to tell the scale from the photographs?
The N sainthousei are up to 2 cm long (half-grown) and I think the dead leaves (Indian almond leaves?) were 15 to 20 cm long. The photo shows most of the tank, so I think it must be about a metre long. The pinstripe damba in the Malagasy tank are adults, but not as big as Chester's old specimens so I think that tank must be around 5 metres long.
Thank you for the review / pics - I think it looks good. Tbh I don't think it is fair to consider it as a replacement for the London Aquarium as I don't believe that was the intention. I'm pleased to see that it has a strong conservation theme and it looks like a good addition for Whipsnade - seems to sit nicely with the butterfly house. Personally I would be happy with the aquarium being relatively small if they would add a reptile area to it and the butterfly house. That would be a great little 'discovery' area.
the aquarium is quality over quantity which I think is the best option. plus I think the tv screen with 30 species on is the most effective and clutter-free way to display the names of the fish.
It sounds interesting. Having written a fairly detailed article about the London Zoo Aquarium, and thinking about the reptile house I have concluded that 20 - 25 exhibits is probably about right. Many more and people will walk past if their attention is not immediately grabbed, ten seems too few to me, particularly as some will not be that interesting to the general visitor; you need a few show stoppers.Splitting the exhibits between the zoos dilutes experience too much, I suspect but I have yet to visit Whipsnade to see. I guessed where it would be 'built' and whilst there was no need for a purpose built aquarium, a gift shop rather than a finale is a great shame.
