The Florida Aquarium, Tampa Bay

I really love going to aquariums because I can see sea mammals and fish that I don't often see in Toronto.  I had my husband drove all the way from Orlando to Tampa just to visit this Florida Aquarium.  General admission is $21.95 but it save you a bit if you do both admission & Ecotour combo ($35.95).  PS, always visit a local tourist info center first before buying any tickets 'coz with the coupon, it saves you another $3.  www.flaquarium.org/

On my way going to Tampa from Orlando

We've arrived Florida Aquarium after driving for an hour

Skunk

They're doing some sort of animal show

Here is a closer shot of the eagle

Egret

Some sort of gar.  Spotted gar maybe?!

I don't know what kind of fish this is but there are a lot of giant fish in this aquarium.

Soft-shelled turtle

These ducks are everywhere and they aren't scare of people!

This guy must be sleeping

It's pretty hard to take picture of them while they're swimming, but here I've tried.

Half of their body is above water while the other half is below the water, looks cute.

This duck looks mean...

I nearly touched this guy but people were watching, so...neh...

I guess this is a gator...  I can't really differentiate between an alligator and a crocodile 'coz they look similar.

One way to tell the difference is by looking at their teeth...

Crocodile will have their teeth expose while gator's teeth are all hidden inside their mouth?!

 Kinda cute to see the duck swim in this way eh??!

...never mind...

Some sort of mini horn owl??!

It must be sleeping!!  Haha!

Otter...

Otter cave...I wonder what those stones are for...  Mmm....must be using them as a tools to open clams!  Hahaha!!!

Giant fish

....Looks like a tilapia to me...

More giant fish...

This is a shot from above...

I wonder if these fish are served in restaurants....

Part of the exhibition area

Lonely turtle

Another shot of the egret

See who this is??!!  =D  It's my Yoyo's brother!!  Hahaha!!  They must come from the same family!  (Just joking~~)

Discus, that's all I know.

Not sure what kind of bird this is....  Heron don't have that peak I guess...

Catfish, Mom's favorite!  LOL!

??  Looks like some sort of rare bird...

Night heron?!  This bird is in sleeping mode...

Quail

....They must have thought that by hiding their heads I can't see them....

Horseshoe crab

Roseate spoonbill

I like it's bill!!  =)

This must be the senior!

Florida

Fish that live at the bottom of the ocean

There is a huge salt water tank at the aquarium

Don't know it's name...but I've seen it on TV!  LOL!

This fish looks ugly...

Lobster!!  Yum!

The eye of this puffer looks so alien!!  It has green sparkling lights!!

Spotter moray

Giant grouper

This fish looks like the one my husband had fished in Cozumel..

Star fish

This fish looks so evil...

This is how the sea turtles hatch

Think I'm at the beach?!  Neh, this is just a ray lagoon

You can't touch these rays here

Southern Ray

Cownose Ray

Kid's craft

Koi

This plant has a giant flower, but I don't know what this is

Don't know what kind of bird this is

Anemones that you can touch

Forgot the name of this thing here, but it has the word 'pencil' in it...

Anemone

More shots of an anemone

I didn't dare to touch this thing...

Assorted shells part 1

Assorted shells part 2

Salt water tank

Not sure of those corals are real or fake...

Neat eh?!  Well, it's a picture within a picture!

This one too, it's a picture within a picture.

Giant grouper again

My husband and I always have a habit when we are looking at these fish...  What's the best cooking method...pan fried?  Sashimi or steam fish...

Moray eel

Moonlight jellyfish

They look so beautiful

This type of jellyfish is so cool!!  It split into several cells.....

It must be some sort of electric jellyfish 'coz it generate light itself!  (See those blue lights?)

Those light circulates around it's body!  So cool!

....It must be some sort of deep water fish....

Looks pretty ugly...

I went on an Ecotour, which this boat brings you to watch wild bottlenose dolphin at Tampa Bay!

We're leaving the pier...

With a small fee, you can take a look inside this fleet

Tampa Bay channel

There are several terminals here, not sure if this is a cruise port?!

I like the picture on this oil tank.

This brown pelican is cute too!

I wish I have a house here!!

It's nice and peaceful here!!  Yet, thunderstorm everyday is a must.

Wild bottlenose dolphin....  That's the closest shot I can get with my camera..

I was told that there is a school of fish underneath that shadow...

Water is calm and it's breezy.  I was trying to shoot the bird but it's too far.

It's obviously not a good day to spot these wild dolphins 'coz there is only a few out there...

The narrator told us that there will be a lot of manatees showing up at the plant area starting from October onwards....too bad it's only Sept so I don't have a chance to see the manatees.

Thick cloud!!

Another shot at the cloud.

Water splash

That's the end of the Ecotour, and I ended up only seeing a few wild dolphins...  I'd rather see them in the aquarium...

Another ray lagoon on the ground floor, which you can touch these rays.

This pool mainly consist of Southern Rays and Cownose Rays.

Here is a Southern Ray

Seahorse

Some sort of seaweed sea dragon?!

They don't really swim, they just flow with the current.

Here is another shot.  PS, they look smart 'coz they always look at you eventhough they don't 'swim' around.

Another type of seahorse.

Sea horse's main diet: brine shrimp.

....I always see this type of shrimp in the grocery store...  Eg, T&T!

Snow crab, this kind of crab are very common in grocery stores too!

Holy!!  They use broccoli to feed these salt water fish!

A lonely old sea turtle.

Penguin~~

Looks so comfortable!

Penguins poop ones every hour, so they can't be on stage for long!

Love this gigantic aquarium here!

There are all kinds of fish here!!  Mostly giant ones!

Sand Tiger.  I think there are 4 or 5 sand tiger sharks in this aquarium here, most of them are male and there is only 1 female here.

Divers tried to interact with the shark here.

These sharks seem very calm.

You think they can close their mouth with all teeth sticking out?!

Wow!!  A sea turtle!

...Seems like his nose has been hit for several times...

Look at his teeth!!  There are 3 layers!!!

...You think he can see me??!

Grouper?!

Moray eel

This is how thick the reef window is...

Smile~~

Souvenirs

These must be chocolates

Decor

A very pretty pair of earring.

Mugs

Decors

Magnet

Glass magnet

Ornaments

Cute turtle decor

Time to leave the aquarium now.

Ybor City, just right next to Florida aquarium

It;s nice place but there is nothing to see really...

We were thinking of going to Clearwater at first but we hit the traffic jam....so we turned and headed home.