20140724 Waikiki Aquarium 3

My third installment of the Waikiki Aquarium post is the highlight of this facility- the 5,500 Gallon South Pacific Reef tank

Waikiki Aquarium Giant Clam

 The reason this is the highlight of the facility- well, I think the photos speak for themselves. I guarantee you will not find happier captive fish, coral, anemone, and clams happier than this place. I have visited many high-profile public aquariums in my life. And none of these public aquariums with admission up to 6X the price of this place hosts healthier and happier livestock than this small aquarium.

Waikiki Aquarium Gigas Clam

 The pair of Tridacna Gigas here is the world’s oldest, and largest captive grown giant clams. Please also observe the amount of hard and soft corals surrounding it. Also, the tanks houses a large variety of both common and rare marine fish.

Waikiki Aquarium Gigas Clam

 Once again, the tank is lit primarily with natural sunlight with a few 1000W metal halide lights supplementing the light.

Waikiki Aquarium Clam display

Because of the size of this system, once again, it houses many of the species we would normally deem “not reef safe”, yet none of them are nipping the corals!