The ABQ BioPark Aquarium, located in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

is a facility of the

Albuquerque Biological Park The ABQ BioPark (or Albuquerque Biological Park) is an environmental museum located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It contains four separate facilities: * ABQ BioPark Aquarium - An aquarium with a ocean tank containing Gulf of Mexico saltwater spec ...

and is located next door to the

ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden The ABQ Biopark Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located at 2601 Central Avenue NW in Albuquerque, New Mexico, beside the Rio Grande. The garden showcases plants of the Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radial ...

. The ABQ BioPark Aquarium exhibits

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

and

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

saltwater species from a variety of habitats, including surf zone, shallow waters, coral reefs, open ocean and deep ocean. The highlight of the aquarium is a shark tank with a -wide, -high, -thick acrylic viewing window. ''Jellies: Aliens of the Sea'', featuring

moon jellies The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

and Japanese sea nettles, and the ''Pacific Coral Reef Tunnel'' are popular with aquarium visitors. ''The South Pacific Gallery'' features

seahorse A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meaning "sea monster" or ...

pipefish Pipefishes or pipe-fishes (Syngnathinae) are a subfamily of small fishes, which, together with the seahorses and seadragons (''Phycodurus'' and '' Phyllopteryx''), form the family Syngnathidae. Description Pipefish look like straight-bodied se ...

es, and colorfully patterned reef fish. ''The Rio Grande at Central Bridge'' exhibit in the aquarium lobby offers visitors an opportunity to compare the kinds of fish that lived in the Albuquerque reach of the Rio Grande 100 years ago and those found today. The ''Shark/Ray Encounter'' allows guests to have a guided, up-close experience with

bamboo shark The Hemiscylliidae are a family of sharks in the order Orectolobiformes, commonly known as longtail carpet sharks and sometimes as bamboo sharks. They are found in shallow waters of the tropical Indo-Pacific. They are relatively small sharks, ...

s and

stingray Stingrays are a group of sea rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae ...

s. The Albuquerque Biological Park is an accredited member of the

Association of Zoos and Aquariums The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), originally the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in ...

(AZA).

Exhibits

The ABQ BioPark Aquarium was built as a themed aquarium, with visitors starting at a fountain that depicts the headwaters of the Rio Grande and ending at a saltwater tank which holds species from the open ocean of the Gulf of Mexico. After entering the museum, visitors first view freshwater tanks that display fish from the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

, both currently found and those no longer found in the river today. Adjacent is a small movie theater displaying informational films on aquatic life. Following this is a

Coast Gallery, which contains several exhibits depicting the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, with fish and bird species from this region as well as stingrays, and a Texas Terrapin exhibit, and a retired shrimp fishing boat. In July 2018, the aquarium expanded with the addition of a large North American River Otter exhibit. facility houses 3 otters, females Chaos and Mayhem and a male Dixon. The exhibit is multilayered with an upper-level with land, hiding areas, and plenty of dirt and vegetation with view of the large pool. The large pool includes an underwater viewing tank. Around the viewing tank are smaller tanks that include local fish such as blue gill and catfish, terrariums with local amphibians like leopard frogs and bullfrogs, and invertebrates such as crayfish. A replica of a coral reef displaying such fish as parrotfish,

angelfish Angelfish may refer to: *Several groups of fish: **Freshwater angelfish, tropical cichlids of the genus ''Pterophyllum'' **Marine angelfish of the family Pomacanthidae **Atlantic pomfret (''Brama brama''), sold by fishmongers as "angelfish" in Sou ...

, grunts,

porcupinefish Porcupinefish are fish belonging to the family Diodontidae (order Tetraodontiformes), also commonly called blowfish and, sometimes, balloonfish and globefish. They are sometimes collectively called pufferfish, not to be confused with the morpholo ...

, and

triggerfish Triggerfish are about 40 species of often brightly colored fish of the family Balistidae. Often marked by lines and spots, they inhabit tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world, with the greatest species richness in the Indo-Pacif ...

comes next; followed by a coral reef tunnel exhibiting several types of fish species found in the South Pacific. The next exhibit is a series of small tanks exhibiting "oddities" such as

clownfish Clownfish or anemonefish are fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. Thirty species of clownfish are recognized: one in the genus '' Premnas'', while the remaining are in the genus '' Amphiprion''. In the wild, t ...

seahorses A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meaning "sea monster" or " ...

jellyfish Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbre ...

hagfish Hagfish, of the class Myxini (also known as Hyperotreti) and order Myxiniformes , are eel-shaped, slime-producing marine fish (occasionally called slime eels). They are the only known living animals that have a skull but no vertebral column, ...

cuttlefish Cuttlefish or cuttles are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control of ...

, and

nautilus The nautilus (, ) is a pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae. The nautilus is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina. It comprises six living species in ...

. On occasion, there will also be a touch pool tank open that contains stingrays and

pups. In 2020, the aquarium added a new exhibit for frog fish. The coral exhibit also went over a large expansion, transforming the small 200-gallon tank into a 1,500-gallon one. The aquarium is home to 50 coral species. The final exhibit, a saltwater tank with a viewing window, displays six shark species (

sandtiger shark The sand tiger shark (''Carcharias taurus''), gray nurse shark, spotted ragged-tooth shark or blue-nurse sand tiger, is a species of shark that inhabits subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. It inhabits the continental shelf, from sandy sh ...

sandbar shark The sandbar shark (''Carcharhinus plumbeus'') also known as the brown shark or thickskin shark, is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae, native to the Atlantic Ocean and the Indo-Pacific. It is distinguishable by it ...

blacktip shark The blacktip shark (''Carcharhinus limbatus'') is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae. It is common to coastal tropical and subtropical waters around the world, including brackish habitats. Genetic analyses have rev ...

nurse shark The nurse shark (''Ginglymostoma cirratum'') is an elasmobranch fish in the family Ginglymostomatidae. The conservation status of the nurse shark is globally assessed as Vulnerable in the IUCN List of Threatened Species. They are considered t ...

s, zebra sharks and

tasselled wobbegong The tasselled wobbegong (''Eucrossorhinus dasypogon'') is a species of carpet shark in the family Orectolobidae and the only member of its genus. It inhabits shallow coral reefs off northern Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands. Reachi ...

s),

tarpon Tarpons are fish of the genus ''Megalops''. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae. Of the two species, one (''M. atlanticus'') is native to the Atlantic, and the other (''M. cyprinoides'') to the Indo-Pacific Oceans. Species a ...

barracuda A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which ...

s, stingrays, large schooling fish,

moray eel Moray eels, or Muraenidae (), are a family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera which are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water, and a few are f ...

s and three species of

sea turtles Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhe ...

(

loggerhead Loggerhead or Loggerheads may refer to: Places * Loggerheads, Denbighshire, a village in Denbighshire, Wales * Loggerheads, Staffordshire, a small village in north Staffordshire, England * Loggerhead Key, the largest islet in the Dry Tortugas, F ...

Kemp's ridley Kemp's ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys kempii''), also called the Atlantic ridley sea turtle, is the rarest species of sea turtle and is the world's most endangered species of sea turtle. It is one of two living species in the genus '' Lepido ...

, and

hawksbill The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is large ...

). Every day divers enter the tank to do daily chores like feeding and cleaning. A restaurant and a gift shop are also located in the building.

Conservation

The ABQ BioPark Aquarium currently runs a facility that focuses in the conservation of fishes found in the Rio Grande. The project includes the

Rio Grande silvery minnow The Rio Grande silvery minnow or Rio Grande minnow (''Hybognathus amarus'') is a small herbivorous North American fish. It is one of the seven North American members of the genus '' Hybognathus'', in the cyprinid family. The Rio Grande silvery mi ...

breeding program and the

Socorro isopod ''Thermosphaeroma thermophilum'' is a crustacean in the family Sphaeromatidae. It is commonly known as the Socorro isopod or Socorro sowbug. It was endemic to the thermal water oSedillo Spring This was located in Socorro County in the state o ...

. In January 2008, three blacktip shark pups were born at the Albuquerque Aquarium, making it the first birth of this species of shark ever recorded in captivity. The births were caught on video, which i
available for viewing
The stated mission of the aquarium is to educate the public about the world oceans and the animals that live within. Events are held year round and include monthly sleepovers, a "Shark Week", camps for children during the summer and spring, and celebrations for

World Oceans Day World Oceans Day is an international day that takes place annually on 8 June. The concept was originally proposed in 1992 by Canada's International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the Earth Summit ...

, and

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...

Future Exhibits

An updated aquarium entrance is in the new master plans for the aquarium. A recent bond was passed to help bring in a North American Otter exhibit towards the existing Pelican pond. Other new plans include updated local fish exhibits.

Former Exhibits/ Residents

model boat Ship models or model ships are scale models of ships. They can range in size from 1/6000 scale wargaming miniatures to large vessels capable of holding people. Ship modeling is a craft as old as shipbuilding itself, stretching back to ancien ...

exhibition hall was found in the Aquarium. It has closed and will serve as a location needed for the Otter Exhibit. * The Current Terrapin Exhibit housed baby american alligators before terrapins, and fished before alligators. * The current Fish of the South Pacific walk through tunnel formerly housed Moray eels along with other eel species.

Notes

External links

* * {{Zoos of New Mexico Tourist attractions in Albuquerque, New Mexico Aquaria in New Mexico