Taraporewala Aquarium, the city’s once-popular window to the wonders of aquatic life, has a brilliant new countenance to boast. The renovated marine exhibition centre will reopen within a couple of months after much-delayed renovation work is completed.
The aquarium, which was set up at a cost of Rs8 lakh in 1951 at Marine Drive, has attracted families over six decades. That this marine life centre was opened by then President Dr Rajendra Prasad indicates the importance it had. There were about a hundred species of fish, including coral fish, sharks, rays, turtles, starfish, and a variety of other marine life and rare sea shells. But the centre had deteriorated and the number of visitors declined sharply.
Two years ago, a fancy oceanarium was proposed to be built. But that plan was abandoned because of coastal regulations and development control rules and work was started in March 2013 on a second-generation aquarium that is smaller.
The work is being undertaken by the public works department with assistance from the Central Institute of Fisheries Education. It is estimated to cost Rs20 crore.
When it opens in March, the centre will house about 70 marine and 40 freshwater species, many of them available locally and such exotic fish like Azure Damsel, Purple Firefish, Blue Ribbon Eel, Frontosa and Red Devil.
“We will have a fish spa, an information centre and even an auditorium that is almost ready but would be operational a little later,” said Rajendra Jadhav, joint commissioner of fisheries. Films and other activities relating to the marine environment would be used to educate people.
In a fish spa, people can place their feet in tanks of warm water containing dozens of toothless fish. The fish, also known as doctor or nibble fish, gently nibble away at dry and dead skin, leaving the feet refreshed.
There will also be two touch pools for children where they would be able to touch harmless marine animals like the sea urchin, sea cucumber, starfish and turtles. The tanks are now larger, fitted with 110mm flexi glass that gives better clarity, and will be lit by LED or metal halide lamps to enhance the colour of fish. The old filtration system has also been replaced with a modern automatic system.
“The water-testing system is the only item that remains to be completed because of the varied pH requirements for the exotic species we will have,” Jadhav said. Aquarium staffers talked about how local fishermen would supply a lot of the fish in the aquarium.
Opening in March
The aquarium opens in March, it will house about 70 marine and 40 freshwater species, many of them available locally and such exotic fish like Azure Damsel, Purple Firefish, Blue Ribbon Eel, Frontosa and Red Devil.
The tanks are now larger, fitted with 110mm flexi glass that gives better clarity, and will be lit by LED or metal halide lamps to enhance the colour of fish.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}