Tag: aquarium

Mystic Aquarium – Mystic Connecticut

A charismatic little gold and black frog stands on two feet looking out of the glass of its enclosure.

[Scroll to bottom for Gallery]

Mystic Aquarium has been on my bucket list for a few years now. Everyone I talked to seemed to rave about it saying it was better than the Boston Aquarium. The only issues were that I didn’t really want to go during the summer season when I was sure it’d be packed and I also wasn’t sure the $41 per adult ticket fee was reasonable. I mean, that’s a lot, especially for someone like me who likes to blog destinations that are accessible even to the poorest of people, *cough cough* myself. But you know, there comes a day for everything.

It was the dead of winter, there was snow on the ground, the sky was gray and the temperatures were let’s just say nippy in the 20s. We figured this would mean the aquarium would be more or less dead and we could wander around like the soul survivors of a zombie apocalypse. But alas no!

When we drove up the entire parking lot was FULL with numerous cars circling trying to find a spot. I wandered into overflow parking which was also almost at capacity. We parked, looked incredulously at each other, and started to walk towards the ticket master which it appears has been replaced with a self sign-in kiosk. Probably for the best. We weren’t even in the gates yet and we were swarmed on all sides by dozens and dozens of babies and toddlers, accompanied by their mums, scarcely a dad in sight. No children seemingly over the age of five and so many of them all bundled up in tiny parkas wandering around in the cold and the gloom. What was going on?!

I’ve been to the Boston Aquarium many times (before it’s somewhat recent renovations) and I naively thought aquariums were indoor facilities. Not this time. We waddled up to the first large outdoor tank which held three beluga whales. I’ve never seen a beluga whale before and they… looked like rubbery marshmallows with weird blubbery heads. I struggled to figure out if they were adorable or only a face a mother could love. Two swam around while a third was vertical and lazily drifting from the bottom to the top, to the bottom again. Weird.

Somewhat embarrassingly I still don’t have a coat at this point in my life (after getting too plump to fit in my all-time favorite coat and then declaring I was not going to buy another one, I was just going to lose the weight! Ha! I’m just as pale and chonky as those damn belugas now. And unrepentant about it.) So, I stuffed my hands in my sweater sleaves and continued on. Boy, was I surprised how much of the aquarium is outside! There was a lot! Belugas, sea lions, seals, walruses, and even penguins. Each had a volunteer attempting to tell us about the animals but I think they were just as overwhelmed by this bizarre massive influx of toddlers as we were. They seemed tired and just narrated in monotone, “And that’s Stella there… the one who just came to the surface…And now she’s gone back down again…” Very informative.

The penguins were my favorite of these outdoor enclosures because they were cute and I didn’t feel like they’d rip me to shreds if I accidentally tumbled into their enclosure. I wasn’t so sure about the seals and whatnot. Those things had massive teeth and moved through the water with a disturbing quickness. Sea puppy my ass, those are just wet Shutzhunds.

I was quite content to be moving indoors after this. As we walked in there was a circular tank just within the door with what I would guess were saltwater fish who were “donated” to the aquarium when they got too big or expensive to maintain by private owners. Later on, I’d see a full-grown Achilles Tang and be in total shock. Never knew they got that big! YIKES.

From here there were all sorts of tanks with various kinds of fish and habitats. There was one poor woman (my companion thinks a volunteer) nervously following the swarm of tiny people, a rag in one hand frantically wiping the boogers and apple sauce off the glass as if she thought it might be acid. Germaphobe? Overstimulated staff? Who knows! But whatever they were paying her it wasn’t enough.

I was happy to see all sorts of fish and critters I’d never seen before. Big fish, little fish, fresh water fish, marine fish. A shark and stingray touch tank was nearby. I pondered if they could catch measles. I hoped not. In any event there were colorful cichlids, charismatic Amazonian fish, and a surprising amount of non-fish critters which included some huge crabs, a spiny lobster, the cutest damn frogs I could have possibly asked for, and of course a few turtles scattered about as well as a few lizards and creepy crawlies. I could probably park myself in front of one of these tanks for a while and just relax… if it weren’t for all the crying and screaming. I did find one mother with her baby doing just that. She was talking about the octopus although it was unclear if she was narrating to her baby or trying to talk to us, the only other unoccupied adults. I get it. Being a single mom is HARD and often very very lonely. I commented the octopus was pretty neat and I think it was funny he had a dog toy in his pen.

From here my companion insisted we see the sea lion show. OK… It wasn’t any additional charge, we just had to be there on time. So we wandered in and took a seat in what would end up being a pretty damn full gallery. The humans in this performance bounced out with the energy of a highly caffeinated children’s TV host and the kids ATE IT UP. The premise of the show was that there was a mission to be accomplished with the help of the kiddies in the audience. They yelled on command and did little poses. It was kind of heartwarming and adorable.

There were three seals performing that day and they were enthusiastically silly, jumping, swimming, striking poses, shaking their weird rubbery dog heads yes and no, retrieving props and waving, you know, all the classics. I laughed with the children. It was all very sweet and had an anti-global warming message which… these days it’s just nice to see science out in the open without being screamed at by a flat earthers or whatever.

After the show we wandered back out, saw the tanks we had not yet seen, and decided to try the additional bonus exhibit which this month was Sea Dinosaurs. What? I get to see dinosaurs too?? Yes please! This was an additional $15 a person. We paid and wandered in. The ceiling was decorated with big replicas of fossil sea creatures – mostly ammonites. Inside the main hall there was what I can only describe as a scrabbling course for children which put them in harnesses and let them climb on platforms and tightropes above the crowd. If I were three feet tall I would have been ALL OVER THAT. I sighed at my cracking joints and lamented that youth is wasted on the young.

We wandered about for a while finding a self photo booth with megalodon jaws, a projector sand pit, and some sort of weird psychedelic acid trip of a thing that made our dancing silhouettes into a mass of crazy colors in real time. That was fun. Really fed my inner child. Again, I probably would have poked more at these if it wasn’t such a busy and chaotic day for the aquarium. People tend to look at adults funny when they cheekily decide to play too, though I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this and do believe the world would be a better place with more whimsy and less taking ourselves so seriously.

And so that was our trip to the aquarium. We left laughing but kind of exhausted to go to an old haunt Mystic Pizza for lunch. It never disappoints.

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Something Fishy – Warwick Rhode Island

“This is the least suspicious fish shop you’ve ever brought me to.” My companion noted, rather astutely. Indeed it was in a proper plaza with a real parking lot and didn’t even have the faintest whisper of the serial killer’s basement vibes that these places tend to have. But then again, as the woman at the desk explained, it wasn’t really a store in a classic sense either. It was an event space first and foremost with gorgeous display fish tanks scattered throughout and a back room filled with… well fish stuff. Coral frags, quarantined fish, live rock, all the things a fish tank installation company would need to create another spectacular tank in a client’s home. And that’s really what Something Fishy is.

They must be successful at it too because I’ve seen their trucks driving down the highway numerous times fanning my curiosity. And if their client tanks are half as decent as the ones in their event space they’re probably worth the investment. They were stunning. Sadly the sun was up at just the wrong time and there was a glare that made taking photos really difficult. No matter, I allowed myself to delight over their coral shelves and get lost watching the fish who were robust, healthy, and showing no signs of distress. These were some swank fishies!

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Easy Aquariums – Westbrook Maine

Since we were already in Maine I decided to take this last opportunity to check out a different fish shop in the hopes of finding another betta or maybe something else interesting I could keep in a jar for a few days before going home. Alas even though they had the best betta rack I have yet encountered (with each pen containing it’s own plant) it seems they were just about sold out with only two left. No worries I was also here to take a gander at everything else.

The freshwater fish were different than the ones I was used to seeing and all seemed very healthy. I really liked the Diamond Tetras! And they had a lot of plants to choose from. Sadly, I already either had all of them or have killed them. This hobby may be getting a bit out of control… *whistles*

They also had a saltwater section with a wonderful large variety of small and medium coral frags at very reasonable prices as well as some fish – mostly clowns. After poking at these we made our way to the reptile room and had fun trying to find what was in each enclosure as these too were full of plants and hiding nooks. They had some snakes, a gorgeous and healthy-looking chameleon, and some adorable frogs and geckoes. All very healthy and happy looking.

I may not have found what I wanted on this day but I definitely keeping the info for this place for the next time I’m up here! I was impressed!

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Aquatic Creations LLC – Brookline New Hampshire

Hopping around to various fish stores is always an adventure. You just never know what you’re going to get.

Recently Google has been showing me Aquatic Creations and upon looking at their website they seemed to be mostly a salt water set up bussiness but they did claim to have a brick and mortar store and fresh water options. I could always use more options for fresh water fish and supplies so I added this stop to my list and swung by afte a hike.

It’s a very small place and still quite a mess as I guess they are still in the process of moving from a different location. Even so they did have a nice tank with corals and frags, a rack of fresh water fish that included guppies and the most personable koi I’ve ever met which looked up at me with big puppy eyes. There was a nice selection of plants as well and of course a few saltwater fish, mostly clowns, but also an adorable box fish. If I had a pond or saltwater tank that koi and or box fish probably would have come home with me!

I stayed a while and talked with the man running the place. He said this was indeed a business helping people create mostly saltwater set ups and ponds. He seemed very friendly and helpful and gave me a business card. Although I am not in need of having anyone install anything for me it’s good to have this place in mind in case that changes or if I am talking to someone who does.

Is this place worth looking at as brick-and-mortar store right now? Uhhh… maybe if you live in town or really close by. Otherwise, it really is more oriented toward instillation – at least until the rest get moved over. I don’t know how long that will take. You know how fish are – the more expensive they are the more fussy they are to big changes!

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Vance’s Tropical Fish and Exotics – Bucksport Maine

WE DID IT! I’ve officially gone to over 500 destinations for Catching Marbles and I decided to make Vance’s Tropical Fish the 500th entry because it epitomizes so much of what I am looking for when I am out exploring – independent businesses, weird places and things, and lovely people. This one also had the added benefit of some very beautiful and lively fish!

I had gone to Maine for a week with my travel companion and we went all sorts of places but I wanted to make sure I went to Vance’s because I’d heard from locals I needed to check for YEARS and I just never made it. Plus, I may have been in the market for a good betta. This place was a trip! As with any fish store I didn’t know what I was getting into. Perhaps naively I thought this was an actual streetside shop in town because Bucksport is very touristy but no… this place was up a long dirt driveway that clearly ended at someone’s house. Only after getting that far did we see the big sign. This was clearly a project of passion.

We drove up a few minutes before it opened and had to wait for someone to come out and unlock the place. When I walked in I found it was small but full of charm and character. I was also surprised to see that this wasn’t just a tropical fish store – that it also had an assortment of marine fish and corals. All the tanks were crystal clear with fully colored healthy looking fish swimming around real plants and corals. In fact when I asked about the bettas he said he’d gotten six in that morning but he forgot where he put them – they were all scattered among the community tanks. I had fun playing Find the Bettas for a few minutes while my travel companion stared into the mudskipper enclosure. Neither one of us had ever seen mudskippers before! They were surprisingly big! And active! And for some reason gave me the impression they looked like they should be barking (they weren’t and probably can’t. This is just my weird mind acting up.)

I managed to locate most of the bettas and they were pretty standard fair and mostly blue. But the first one I found had HUGE yellow fins and I ended up taking him home. He was so lively even with those outrageous fins. I bought him for a crazy reasonable price of $12.99 and named him Uncle Henry. If you’re from Maine you’ll get the joke. He colored up BEAUTIFULLY when I finally got him home almost a week later – having spent the interim in a Mason jar. I do apologize for my poor planning, but he eats like a bear and is doing great so this short stint in a tiny glass prison didn’t seem to harm him.

The rest of the tropical fish were pretty standard but man were they bright and active. Real quality and health here! The cherry barbs were the reddest I have ever seen and I’ve been to quite a few of these stores. And of course, I was enthralled by the mudskippers and a few marine fish I’d never seen before either. The shop had a corner that was decorated in Hawiian motif and had some instruments out. Another room read “arcade closed” and had a number of quite decent arcade machines. These were just the cherry on top of the cake, the things that made this place so delightfully weird and the shop keep was wonderfully friendly and helpful. All and all it was a great visit and I’m definitely coming back. Last photo is of Henry at home in my tank – which yes, has snails (they’re just a happy bonus for me – not sure why people get so upset about their existence.)

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Mike’s Aquatics – Manchester New Hampshire

It’s a sad reality that the vast majority of little mom and pop pet stores in New England have been absolutely obliterated by Petsmart and Petco, which if you’ve ever been there you know they lack soul amongst other things. Venturing to these small independent stores was like an adventure when I was growing up because you never knew what they’d have as far as critters were concerned.

This pet store reminded me of those days. It’s in the city but off the beaten path, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking this was a more or less vacant lot in the back of an auto mechanic. The good fish stores always have this super sketchy look to their exteriors. But after seeing the last of the little fish stores in my immediate area close for good I was told repeatedly that if you want fish you should go to Lucky’s in Worcester Massachusetts or Mike’s Aquatics in Manchester New Hampshire which is where I went on this day. So, I looked them up online and was delighted to find they had just set up a new betta rack. Obviously, I had to go check it out to see if there was any eligible studs for my bevvy of girls back home. And if they had something else, cool!

So, I drove the hour to get here, endured Manchester city traffic (which isn’t that bad but I’m a country bumpkin and love my long stretches to nowhere. They beat traffic lights and road rage any day of the week!) I was praying for a place that had actual parking because I haaaaaate parallel parking and what do you know, this place had a regular parking lot! But it was pretty hidden. A large sign aside the road said Mike’s Aquatics but I was confused because it was clearly over an autobody shop. Took me a minute to realize I had to turn into the lot and drive behind said mechanic. An adventure!

I was the only one here today. I walked in and two young women were running the store. This place was clean and sparkly. The entrance had driftwood and tanks for sale and little cups of plants. The display tanks were gorgeous! They had an ample supply of fish, all looking vibrant and healthy, being attended to by one of the staff testing the water. I looked around and found not just freshwater fish but plants, marine fish, and a quite varied rack of coral frags. And an empty betta rack. Hmmm. I looked to see if any of the other fish caught my fancy – the calico angels did indeed have my eye but I didn’t have $90 to fork out for three, nor the set up. Angels can be aggressive to each other and when you first get them it’s suggested you get at least three so they don’t get too territorial when adding more later. They were a decent size for the price though.

I was also surprised to find a single ADORABLE little turtle, a huge, planted display tank, and a herp room full of poison dart frogs, a chameleon, a stack of various tarantulas, some snakes, tubs of rolly polies?? and even a fruit fly culture. Funny, I always thought those things spontaneously appeared whenever there was a banana left out too long. Who would BUY fruit flies?? Clearly someone who has a pet that eats them but I don’t know what that would be. Lucky for me the tricolored hognose snake they’d posted on their Facebook page a few days ago appeared to have already found a home as his enclosure was empty. Just as well. I don’t need temptation and I find hognoses soooo goddamn adorable. But no. I must stay with fish. Fish are cheap and don’t care I live in a cold basement abode.

ANYWAY. I was thrilled to see this place also sold pet friendly plants and that their enclosures were very holistic with live plants and stimulation for the critters. I was SHOCKED anyone would buy 10 roly-polies (isopods) for $64 but who am I to make that call? I spent many hours in my childhood playing with woodlice outside, I get how stupidly charming these bugs are.

By now I was still the only one in the shop and I felt like I’d been here a little too long. I decided to make amends for this by buying some aquarium plants which were about the same price I could get online but without added shipping cost. I picked two. Some fluffy hornwort which looked positively unkillable and another little mat of baby tears. Because the ones I had kept getting pulled up and sent floating through the tank like little green refugees until they died. I’d put these in one of my ten-gallon fry tanks and avoid that issue this time. I did ask about the bettas… apparently the new rack system was so new it was still cycling so there were no bettas. I’d driven out here for naught. *cries* As I made my way to the counter I noticed their freezer and found a package of bloodworms for 6 bucks. Yes, please! My fishies are getting treats tonight!

Anyway… if you happen to be needing fish stuff and are in the area I would absolutely recommend this place. They are slightly on the pricey side but their livestock seemed to be of a high quality so maybe that’s completely worth it. Who’s to say, not me! At least not yet… I will be back to check out their bettas which I’ll be adding to my own fish project.

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Lucky’s Aquarium – Worcester Massachusetts

I’ve been meaning to check out Lucky’s for quite a while now as so many people seem to love this place. I knew however, that going to a well loved fish store might be a bit detrimental to my wallet. *sigh*

ANYWAY, as I drove up I discovered it’s in a warehouse dock. Certainly not what I was expecting but I’ve been to a lot of super sketchy aquariums and pet stores in the past so why not? There was a sign saying Lucky’s Aquarium, clearly handmade though almost hidden. I was alone today so I sent a quick text just to make sure if I ended up toppling into a serial killers lair someone would know…

As I walked in there was some aquariums and equipment in a hallway, still not giving me the best vibes until I saw one display tank with some very fat and happy looking newts. And beyond them there was an actual fish store! It was small but well maintained.

There was a counter full of probably 30 or 40 bettas of all kinds and sexes. And they all seemed healthy, a few of the females were even a bit on the chonky side. I found a GORGEOUS male, almost all orange, but for $45 he had the wrong tail type for my little breeding colony. To be fair the prices were anywhere between $7.50 and $65 per betta. It was the best selection I’ve seen at a petstore so far.

By now I was looking around and seeing a number of exotic large fish including two tanks of stingrays, some dinosaur fish, a selection of large fresh water puffers, a lung fish, and a fairly sizable arrowana.

I knew this place was popular and they seemed pretty sold out of most things on this day but they did have a nice selection of live plants and the small fish they did have were all super decently priced which is how I came home with a $4 plant and two almost adult hillstream loaches for $19 each!

This place is deffinately well worth a looksey if you’re in the area and wanting some healthy fish. Although they did have some tanks and supplies this place was mostly just live fish – catering to a crowd who already is in the aquarium game.

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One Stop Country Pet Supply Keene NH

Today I decided to go to the last pet shop that’s within an hour of home. As usual I was looking for somewhere that might sell aquatic plants, a search which has been so unfruitful I had literally no expectations for this place. I’ve been here once when the place first opened but that was years ago and at the time all it had was pet supplies. No fish, no critters. I didn’t think anything had changed until a friend told me I really needed to check out the fish. The fish?

This place is right next to Home Depot which was convenient considering I broke the sink trying to set up an RO water filter for my own fish babies. I had to go in there anyway, might as well just wander over to the pet store and take a peek… Maybe rescue a Betta for cheap or free. I’d heard of other people going to large chain pet stores and purposely picking Bettas that are two breaths away from death, convincing the staff they’d never sell it alive, and getting insane discounts on said fish, sometimes even bringing them home for free! If you’re talented enough to nurse it back to health you can get decent Bettas this way.

As I walked in the first thing I noticed was a very good variety of wet dog and cat food. Lots of leashes and whatnot. The place was very open, very clean, and the cashier was wearing a mask which is much appreciated by immune suppressed self. I didn’t see any critters or fish tanks but I walked to the back of the store and there they were. The first thing I saw was a rack of Betta fish in the usual plastic cups but unlike all the other pet stores these cups were hooked to same water as all the fish tanks and the Bettas were SO HEALTHY and vibrantly colored! I had never seen Bettas this robust in all my years of poking around pet stores. There wasn’t a ton of them but the ones that were here were amazing and they were sitting next to cups of various kinds of moss that was just as healthy! I expected these fish to be top dollar as they were so perfect and was shocked at their low prices. They ranged from $6-14 each. And then I saw him – a gorgeous dark blue crown tail. AHHHH. I have a particular fondness for crown tails and aside from pictures online I’d never seen one with full fins like this. Turning the corner there was also a female crown tail for $7! The male was $10. I had been planning on buying a pair of crown tails online and was expecting to pay $25 a fish plus shipping, this was a steal! They came home with me with a little tub of Taiwan Moss.

As I continued deeper into the fish section I noticed it was small but had a fairly decent variety and everything was intensely robust. Even better they had plants! For very decent prices! FIRST time I’d seen this in the area. I was impressed. A single saltwater tank had a very well-fed clownfish. Nearby the reptile section had a solitary resident, a large and vibrant chameleon. Chameleons are notorious for being hard to keep healthy so seeing this guy here was eye-opening. At the front of the store there was guinea pig, some mice, and rats, all in large very clean enclosures. Everyone was bright eyed and glowing.

I am going to be back to this place! HIGHLY RECCOMMENDED. And in the meantime if you’re wondering how my two new babies are doing – the female is a voracious eater and the male is very very docile for a male. I have yet to name them.

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OSA Aquarium Superstore and Services – Seekonk MA

The antique stores we had chosen earlier on in the day were kind of meh so we decided a change it up a little bit and check out another fish store. I’m still looking for places I can buy healthy plants and maybe more for my own freshwater tank. It’d be nice to be able to help support one of these little stores instead of continuing to buy plants online.

When we drove up I noticed their logo was a piece of coral and I wondered if we hadn’t accidentally ended up at another saltwater store. The storefront windows were all blocked with posters, I am sure to keep algae growth down, and DAMN were these some clean tanks! And quite a few of them! Every single one of them was fresh water so I have no idea what the logo was about. There was a pretty sweet collection of larger fish – cichlids, angels, discus, and an adorable catfish that was swimming upside-down for some reason. Everyone looked healthy and they even and some snails and freshwater shrimp! The range of nano fish was also decent. They even had some rainbow fish.

But what really made me smile was a big set of shelves full of various driftwood. You’d think a store with driftwood would have plants but alas no, every tank I noticed with plants had garish plastic ones. Oh well, at least now I know. Otherwise this place looks like a great place for fish or driftwood. They even had a little river tank that kept the fish on the move. It was sweet.

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Save the Bay Exploration Center and Aquarium -Newport Rhode Island

We had been meaning to check out the little aquarium in town but time has a funny way or eroding old ideas. However, today was the day we finally ventured to this little aquarium next to the bay. And it was so worth it!

We weren’t sure what the parking situation was but were happy to be told upon driving in and asking that part of the parking lot was sectioned off for the aquarium and free. So that was our first nice surprise. Admission was $9 for an adult and this place was… a little strange to figure out how to get in. We had to follow a bunch of signs through corridors before we found the ticket booth.

Inside we learned that this aquarium was basically an education center that housed various marine life and animals mostly from the bay but also in freshwater habitats nearby. The place was tiny but packed in every nook and corner with aquariums and displays. I was a little taken aback when the first thing I saw was a tank with three cowfish (labelled Buffalo Boxfish) in it. We have cowfish in New England?! Yes, but no, a guide answered. These were in one of several tropical fish tanks maintained at the aquarium where tropical fish dragged out of the bay found a refuge rather than freezing to death in the winter. Why are there random tropical fish in the bay? The answer was a bit hazy but basically, they’d got severely lost at some point in their life and washed up here in this cold gray hellscape where if they weren’t accidentally fished and then donated to the aquarium they’d just eventually freeze to death and die. There was quite a few of these “orphans” and I was surprised by the variety – they even had a puffer fish!

From here we were welcomed to the first touch tank. A guide handed us a periwinkle and told of about what sounds like the first issue we had with feral animals or rather non-native species. The little varmints apparently ate most of the plant life in the bay and left it permanently altered. We also got to hold a hermit crab and a welk. The welk was really weird. In the tank next to them there was an orange lobster whose life had been saved because he was such a bizarre color. He already looked cooked! Lobsters are generally brown.

As we made our way through the rest of the aquarium several guides gave us super in-depth information about their little section. We got to pet a stingray, a dog fish, a disabled horseshoe crab who was a permanent resident, and even a piece of seaweed which was rigid and not at all slimy. Blew my mind. We got to see their shark breeding program – so many baby sharks and developing eggs! We also met a series of octopuses who were REALLY good at hiding, some sea horses (we have sea horses in new England?! Apparently!) and a tank full of adorable shrimp. Later we’d get to the freshwater tanks and see several species of turtles and frogs. The snapping turtle was found wandering lost in the bay and I found his lack of direction just as endearing as his extra toes. You guys, there was a POLYDACTYL SNAPPING TURTLE. How great is that!

All and all we got QUITE the lesson from the various guides and learned that the center will be moving soon to a location 7 times the size. We will be back when they do! All and all it was a great little place to check out and my only lament is there were no lump suckers which are my favorite local marine fish but who knows maybe they’ll get some after they move! And hey, if you’re here in the winter the Save the Bay people also do seal tours.

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