Taraporewala Aquarium or Taraporevala Aquarium is

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

's oldest

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

and one of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

's main attractions. It hosts marine and freshwater fish. The aquarium is located on

Marine Drive Marine Drive may refer to: Roads Bangladesh * Cox Bazar-Tekhnaf Marine Drive, world's longest marine drive road. Canada *Marine Drive (Nova Scotia), a scenic route in Nova Scotia * Marine Drive (Greater Vancouver), a number of roadways in Metro ...

. The aquarium has a 12-foot long and 180 degree acrylic glass tunnel. The fish are kept in large glass tanks, which will be lit with LED lights. The aquarium hosts 2,000 fish across over 400 species. Fish from overseas were introduced at the new aquarium. The number of new varieties of 70 marine fish included Helicopter,

Arowana Arowanas are freshwater bony fish of the subfamily Osteoglossinae, also known as bony tongues (the latter name is now often reserved for Arapaiminae). In this family of fish, the head is bony and the elongated body is covered by large, heavy s ...

Grouper Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is u ...

, yellow-striped tang, bluespotted stingray,

sea stars Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish ...

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, th ...

, hark,

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-Pacific. ...

Moorish idol The Moorish idol (''Zanclus cornutus'') is a marine fish species, the sole extant representative of the family Zanclidae (from the Greek ζαγκίος, ''zagkios'', "oblique") in order Acanthuriformes. A common inhabitant of tropical to subt ...

, Azure Damsel, Blueline Demoiselle, Purple Firefish, Cloudy Damsel,

Copperband Butterflyfish The copperband butterflyfish (''Chelmon rostratus''), also known as the beaked coral fish, is found in reefs in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. This butterflyfish is one of the three species that make up the genus ''Chelmon'' and all have lon ...

Schooling Bannerfish The schooling bannerfish (''Heniochus diphreutes''), also known as the false moorish idol, is a marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish from the family Chaetodontidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific area. Description The schooling bannerfish ...

Raccoon Butterflyfish The raccoon butterflyfish (''Chaetodon lunula''), also known as the crescent-masked butterflyfish, lunule butterflyfish, halfmoon butterflyfish, moon butterflyfish, raccoon butterfly, raccoon, raccoon coralfish, and redstriped butterflyfish, is ...

, White Tail Trigger,

Clown Triggerfish The clown triggerfish (''Balistoides conspicillum''), also known as the bigspotted triggerfish, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Balistidae, or commonly called triggerfish. Description The clown triggerfish is a fish which gro ...

and Blue Ribbon Eel. The 40 new varieties of freshwater fish include Red Devil, Jaguar, Electric Blue,

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...

, Frontosa and

Catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

. These fishes will be housed in larger tanks than before with imported flexi glass for better visibility. The aquarium continues to support sharks, turtles, rays, moray eels, sea turtles, small starfish and stingrays. The aquarium is maintained by the Department of Fisheries. The aquarium's 16 seawater tanks and 9 freshwater tanks host 31 types of fish, while 32 tropical tanks contains 54 kinds of fish. The tropical section of the aquarium features ecosystems such as the "moss aquarium" for pregnant fish, "plantation aquarium" that features imported varieties of water lilies and other aquatic plants and "island aquarium".

Atin Srivastava

Taraporewala Aquarium was built in 1951 at a cost of (at the time equivalent to US$167,000 using the fixed exchange rate of to 1 US$). It was inaugurated by India's first president

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...

. The aquarium is named after a

Parsee Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

Philanthropist D B Taraporewala, who donated (at the time equivalent to US$41,754 ) for the construction. The aquarium reopened after renovation on 3 March 2015. It was renovated at a cost of Rs.22 crore (approx Rs 7.5 crore for aquariums and Rs. 16.5 crore for construction work done by Public Works department). Taraporewala Aquarium Inside View

New exhibits: * Oceanarium in the foyer with water. * Amphitheater with 50 seats, screening documentaries on fish, marine ecosystems and environment conservation. * Touch pool, where curious visitors can touch star fish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and turtles. * Fish spa. You can dip your feet in one of ten tanks of

Doctor fish The red garra (''Garra rufa''), also known as the doctor fish or nibble fish, is a species of cyprinid that is native to a wide range of freshwater habitats in subtropical parts of Western Asia. This small fish typically is up to about in tot ...

(Garra rufa). The fish nibble and remove dead skin from your feet and legs. * Coral and rocky ecosystems with aqua scaping and LED lighting. * Semi-circular tank housing jelly fish.

Species of fishes

Damselfish Damselfish are those within the subfamilies Abudefdufinae, Chrominae, Lepidozyginae, Pomacentrinae, and Stegastenae within the family Pomacentridae. Most species within this group are relatively small, with the largest species being about 30 ...

: territorial fish species including golden damselfish, moon tail, cocoa, striped, electric blue, talbot, and sergeant major damsel *

Butterflyfish The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. The approximately 129 species in 12 genera are found mostly on the reefs of the Atlant ...

: chevron, copper band, long-nose, eight band, red perl * Angelfish : blue ring, regal, wraft and emperor angel fishes *

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-Pacific. ...

: undulated, bluetooth, picasso and clown triggers * Marine eels: yellow head, white ribbon, black ribbon, blue ribbon and

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 ...

* Marine touch pool with sea cucumber, sea urchin, brittle star, tube worms, star fish and more *

s: sweetlip, panther, orange spot and black spot groupers *

Tangs TANGS is a department store located on Orchard Road in Singapore, owned by C.K. Tang Limited. The store is regarded as a principal shopping destination in the city, comparable to Bloomingdale's in New York City and Selfridges Selfridges, a ...

: yellow, powder brown, naso, orange shoulder, and powder blue * Unique species:

oranda An oranda is a breed of goldfish characterized by a prominent bubble-like "hood" on the head. The headgrowth or hood (also known as ''wen'' or ''crown'') may be a prominent growth on the top of the head (cranial region) or may encase the entire ...

, stone, red cap, rukin, and black moor * Other species including bat fish, squirrel fish, golden travery, puffers, jelly fishes, kombada, lion and turkey fish, dwarf lion, whimple, moorish idol, marine coral reef,

wrasse The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into 9 subgroups or tribes. They are typically small, most of them le ...

, sea anemone, negro, clarkii, and

arowana Arowanas are freshwater bony fish of the subfamily Osteoglossinae, also known as bony tongues (the latter name is now often reserved for Arapaiminae). In this family of fish, the head is bony and the elongated body is covered by large, heavy s ...

* Paludarium aquarium with Indian carps:

rohu The rohu, rui, ruhi or roho labeo (''Labeo rohita'') is a species of fish of the carp family, found in rivers in South Asia. It is a large omnivore and extensively used in aquaculture. Description The rohu is a large, silver-colored fish o ...

, catla, mrigal * Tropical aquarium fishes, red tail, sucker, upside down and Asiatic cat fishes * Other species include:

octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...

es,

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 " ...

alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

es, giant gourami,

cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted this ...

koi or more specifically , are colored varieties of the Amur carp ('' Cyprinus rubrofuscus'') that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens. Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of ''C. rubrofuscus'' ke ...

gold fish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild hav ...

sea turtle 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, loggerhead, ...

red-eared slider The red-eared slider or red-eared terrapin (''Trachemys scripta elegans'') is a subspecies of the pond slider (''Trachemys scripta''), a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is the most popular pet turtle in the United States, ...

and Singaporean turtle

References

External links

Newly Renovated Taraporewala Aquarium - Fish Museum Mumbai

Lone Turtle from Mumbai’s Taraporewala Aquarium Released
{{Tourist attractions in Mumbai Aquaria in India Buildings and structures in Mumbai Tourist attractions in Mumbai 1951 establishments in Bombay State Zoos in Maharashtra Zoos established in 1951