Albuquerque Aquarium, Public aquarium in Albuquerque, United States.
The ABQ BioPark Aquarium is a themed aquarium next to the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden in Albuquerque. Visitors begin at a fountain depicting the Rio Grande headwaters, pass freshwater tanks of Rio Grande fish, a Gulf of Mexico coast gallery with a retired shrimp boat, a coral reef tunnel, and end at a 285,000-gallon saltwater tank with a 38-foot-wide, 8-inch-thick acrylic window.
The ABQ BioPark Aquarium was built as a themed aquarium, with exhibits tracing the Rio Grande from its headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico. In July 2018 it added a North American river otter exhibit housing three otters named Chaos, Mayhem and Dixon. In 2020 a frogfish exhibit opened and the coral tank was enlarged from 200 to 1,500 gallons, and in January 2008 three blacktip shark pups were born there, the first recorded captive birth of the species.
The lobby exhibit Rio Grande at Central Bridge compares fish species recorded in the Albuquerque reach of the Rio Grande a century ago with those found there today. The aquarium also runs a Rio Grande silvery minnow breeding program and a Socorro isopod project, and hosts World Oceans Day and Earth Day events.
The building is next to the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden, and a restaurant and gift shop are inside. The daily diving sessions in the 285,000-gallon shark tank, when staff feed and clean, give visitors a view of the tank from above the water.
In January 2008 three blacktip shark pups were born here, the first recorded captive birth of this species; the births were filmed and the video can be viewed. The aquarium also breeds the Rio Grande silvery minnow and keeps the Socorro isopod.
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