![]() ![]() Click click click… Spencer taps a pair of tongs on one of the eels' hideouts to announce lunchtime-eels are masters at concealing themselves, but will come out to eat when hunger calls. It all takes about an hour.Īs Anderson and Spencer enter the tank, they swim over to the eels, who hang out under rocks near the Shark Reef Café viewing window. His duties here include hand feeding eels and rays, target training sea turtles, and cleaning. "As you move around, the animals move with you and that's the most rewarding experience." The biggest thrill for Anderson is swimming in the Ocean Tank. He also keeps a watchful eye on anyone who isn't eating-although some of the animals are shy, everyone should eventually come to eat. Some individuals attempt to beg for seconds or steal a fish from another tank mate, but Anderson carefully keeps an eye on this behavior and thwarts conflicts before they happen. "We have 22 sharks in the tank, but they all get along." "There's a lot of joy working with different personalities," Anderson says. For instance, he points out, the shark they refer to as "#5" has a small tell-tale notch on her first dorsal fin.Īlthough some of the sharks try to get more than their fair share, the tank is oddly calm during feeding-they seem to know they'll each get their turn. Anderson feeds each shark individually, making sure he doesn't inadvertently fan the flames of aggression by allowing two sharks to pursue the same fish.Īnderson knows each shark based on its behavior and physical characteristics and keeps track of who is eating what. He then carefully lowers the pole into the water-at this point the sharks are circling around, ready to eat. He approaches a cart he just wheeled over to the top of the ocean tank and loads a fish onto the prongs. Although they'll dive into the ocean tank later in the day to hand-feed some of the animals, that is not an option for sharks-aquarists don't want these marine predators to associate food with humans.Īnderson pulls out a long steel pole with two prongs on the end. ![]() ![]() Today is one of the four days this week Anderson will feed the sharks. Other animals are hand-fed by Anderson and Spencer, who dive daily into each of the Aquarium's tanks. Once the food is ready, it's time to start feeding.Īquarist Damien Spencer throws some food into the tanks, which trickles down to the animals like (tasty) rain from above. ![]() In all, food preparation takes about 1-1.5 hours each morning-longer on shark feeding days. Add roughly 30 pounds to that number on shark feed days, which happen four times a week. The crew has a few hundred mouths to feed daily, and goes through 100-150 pounds of food each day. "Everyone here gets the best treatment and the best food," Anderson says. Anderson takes care when he's portioning the food-if the cuts are too small the animals might not get their fill, but if they're too big they could choke.Īnd the Aquarium doesn't skimp on the shrimp when feeding its residents-everything here is restaurant grade. This is no easy task-the animals require diverse diets and all of the food must be cut and weighed. A radio softly plays rock music as they cut portions and fill small plastic tubs with fish, krill, squid and vitamin cubes. The two are at a steel table, cutting fish. for Anderson-this is when he and a coworker start prepping food for the aquarium's tank-dwelling residents. ![]()
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