A few days ago an expert team of aquarists at the London Aquarium kicked off the new year with a full clean up of all 63 displays. It is fascinating to see how they did it. And some of the images are simply amazing. Check it out!
The team began by diving inside the shark display and first polishing the five metre long glass walkway, situated above the million litre display which is home to 22 of the magnificent sharks, before sweeping the floor and polishing the glass inside – all closely watched by an inquisitive Bowmouth Guitar shark who did her bit and joined in with the sweeping!
Next on the list was the ray pool, where aquarist Lance Neal was closely supervised by a ray as he polished the glass. Brave aquarist Lance was then tasked with climbing into a beautifully landscaped display to prune the live foliage, all overseen by the inhabitants – a 12 strong group of Red Bellied piranhas.
Over two days, a team of five aquarists worked on all 63 displays in the attraction, housing creatures including colourful tropical fish, two giant rare green sea turtles, a cuban crocodile, 14 poison dart frogs and a group of 20 terrapins – one of whom received a well-deserved shell scrub. The final job on the list was to clean the specially created Antarctic home of a colony of Gentoo penguins, a job the penguins thoroughly enjoyed as they splashed and chased the hose whilst the team attempted to clean around them!
The SEA LIFE London Aquarium, situated on London’s south bank, is open every day for visitors to enjoy more than 500 species plus additional experiences like the Behind the Scenes Tour, VIP Turtle Feeds and Snorkeling with Sharks. For opening times, feeding times, prices and more, see www.visitsealife.com/london.
