Find New Baby Animals in Aquarium Exhibits

August 17, 2021

In July the animal care staff added juvenile shiner surfperch (Cymatogaster aggregata) to the Bays and Sounds exhibit in the Northern Pacific Gallery and juvenile sexy shrimp (Thor amboinensis) to one of the Hidden Potential focus exhibits in the Tropical Pacific Gallery. These new animals were all cultured at the Aquarium in behind-the-scenes nurseries. 

Shiner surfperch are fish that prefer shallow water and are commonly found in bays around eelgrass, oil platforms, pilings of wharfs and piers, and in back waters. They grow to about 7 inches long. Look for them in the Bays and Sounds exhibit near the end of the Sea Otter Habitat.

Sexy shrimp get their name from dance-like movements they make, holding up their tail and swaying. These tiny shrimp, which can grow to be up to half an inch in length, live symbiotically with coral. The Hidden Potential exhibits are the small focus exhibits at the end of the Tropical Tunnel, between the Coral Predators and Tropical Jellies exhibits.

Also in July, twenty juvenile blue-green chromis (Chromis viridis), a type of damselfish, were added to our Living Coral exhibit in the Tropical Pacific Gallery. Some chromis seem to have a symbiotic relationship with staghorn and other branching coral. In exchange for protection from predators in the wild and a safe place to sleep in the sharp branches of the coral, the damselfish may gently fan away detritus buildup on the coral or provide food from its waste products. The Living Coral exhibit is just outside the Frogs exhibit area next to the clownfish.