Small Animal Feedings

April 18, 2022

During Spring Discovery Days, Greater Cleveland Aquarium focuses on the little things. That’s why created a series of short “mealtime” videos featuring some of smaller residents.

In this one, Aquarist Bethany gives the Surinam toads one of their favorite treats . . . earthworms.

Here’s cellphone footage of Aquarist Seneca feeding an animal you might spot in Northeast Ohio parks . . . the yellow spotted salamander.

Sea stars eat in a way you might find odd. They extend their stomachs out of their mouths and envelop their food. Aquarist Katie fed a Bahama sea star and we sped up the video so you could watch this process. The food is partially digested externally, and eventually the sea star will pull its stomach back in through the mouth.

And here’s cellphone footage of Lando feeding frontosa, black piebald and daffodil cichlids.

Hungering for more? You never know what you’ll see when you visit the Aquarium.

–Curation

Are They Bad Guys or Just Misunderstood?

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

Sometimes reputation is not reality. Greater Cleveland Aquarium’s Education team takes a quick looks at snakes, piranhas and sharks to see if they’re really “bad guys” or just misunderstood.

SNAKES

Snakes have been portrayed as bad guys across the globe for centuries. Ancient Greeks share the myth of Medusa with her head of snakes turning humans to stone. Christianity writes about snakes representing evil and temptation in the garden of Eden. Ancient Egyptians tell of a two-headed serpent guarding the underworld.
Paired with the fact that some snakes deliver a venomous bite, it is not surprising that many people dislike or even fear snakes. However, with more than 3,000 different species of snakes on the planet, there is much to celebrate as well. Less than 7% of snake species are able to significantly harm a human. Snakes play an important role in keeping rodent pest populations under control. Many snakes are both predator and prey in an ecosystem food web, so losing them would have a negative affect on many other species.

The snake at the Aquarium is a green tree python. She spends a significant amount of time curled up on her branch, basking in the humid, tropical temperatures. She starts her life as a different color entirely and becomes a brilliant green color as an adult.

If you encounter a snake, you should give them space, but there is no reason to harm it.

PIRANHAS

The piranha’s negative reputation can be traced back to Theodore Roosevelt. He witnessed a staged feeding frenzy of starved piranhas on a trip to South America and wrote about the experience. More than 120 years later, these fish are still working against that tale. The 1978 movie Piranha showcasing a piranha hunting humans refueled the hype, as it showcased piranha hunting humans.

In reality, humans are not part of a piranha’s food chain. Many piranha feed on smaller fish species, and some are omnivores, eating both meat and plant material. In the scientific community, they are described as timid scavengers. Piranha group together for safety to protect themselves from their own predators, like large birds.

The piranha at the Aquarium are red-bellied piranha. They can be admired for their shiny scales. They are an important part of their ecosystems in freshwater rivers of South America. Piranha should be more appreciated than feared.

SHARKS

Sharks are often portrayed as villains in movies. Jaws, Sharknado, The Shallows, The Meg and even The Little Mermaid portray sharks in a negative light. While some sharks are large, and some do have sharp teeth, there is way more to appreciate about sharks than to fear.

Sharks are apex predators. At the top of the food chain, they play a crucial role in keeping the ocean ecosystems in balance, but humans are not part of the menu. There are more than 400 species of sharks and they eat a variety of different types of foods, with the largest whale sharks eating krill, and the smallest dwarf lantern catching tiny prey with an alluring bioluminescent light.

The sharks at the Aquarium are sandtiger, sandbar and nurse sharks. A fan favorite of Aquarium guests, it can be quite calming to watch them swim slowly through the water.

You are more likely to be struck by lightning, fall off a cliff taking a selfie, or be killed by a lawnmower, than be attacked by a shark. Sharks should be revered rather than feared.

–Education

Announcing the Rare Births of Weedy Sea Dragons

January 31, 2022

Species Highlights

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

Greater Cleveland Aquarium is proud to announce the arrival of newborn weedy sea dragons, a species that has proven to be exceedingly difficult to rear. Since the first successful weedy sea dragon hatching in 2001 at the Aquarium of the Pacific, fewer than 20 facilities worldwide have had any level of success with mating and only an estimated dozen of those have had fry survive.

A delicate species whose survival has been tested by habitat degradation, weedy sea dragons are native to the cold coastal waters of south and west Australia.
“Weedy sea dragon births are exceedingly rare, and this would be a point of pride for any animal care facility, but it’s a particularly exciting for an aquarium of our size and age,” says General Manager Stephanie White, who has been with the downtown Cleveland destination since it opened a decade ago in January of 2012.

Greater Cleveland Aquarium is housed in a brick building dating back to 1892, and Curator Ray Popik believes the creativity required to reimagine the historic space contributed to his team’s success breeding sea dragons. “We were able to home the sea dragons in a very deep exhibit built into a structure that likely served as an air duct or a coal chute when this building was an operational powerhouse,” says Popik, explaining, “Its depth provided an optimal habitat for the seahorse relatives who court with an elaborate vertical dance.”

After a female weedy lays her eggs, they are transferred to the male who, similar to its pipefish cousins, is then responsible for fertilizing and carrying them until they hatch. “This was actually the second time one of the female sea dragons in our care deposited eggs on a male’s tail,” says Popik.

While the initial egg transfer in January of 2020 was likely too early in the Aquarium residents’ development to result in viable offspring, the initial mating and successful deposit was an indication that the sea dragons—who came to the Aquarium in March 2018—were thriving. “Animals need to be healthy, have good nutrition and be acclimated to mate,” explains Popik. “We felt the odds they would try again were good.”

A second mating attempt in September of 2021 resulted in another clutch of eggs and fry popping out between late-October and the beginning of November. The hatchlings were moved behind-the-scenes. “There’s no parental involvement after birth and it’s incredible that any of these tiny offspring survive when they’re left to fend for themselves in the ocean,” says Mallory Haskell, the primary aquarist responsible for their monitoring and delicate care. Not particularly strong swimmers, weedy sea dragons’ leaf-like appendages blend in with kelp and seagrass help hide them from predators.

Greater Cleveland Aquarium plans to put some of the young on public view soon in a temporary exhibit just down the corridor from the adult weedy sea dragons. “It’s been amazing to watch these animals develop and we want to give that opportunity to others if we’re able,” says White.

The process has been full of ups and downs, but Haskell is optimistic. “If raising weedy sea dragons was easy, everyone would do it,” she says. “We know there are challenges ahead, but we hope we will see a number of these sea dragons reach full size in a year or so.”

5 Things I Learned about the Green Tree Python (Morelia viridis)

October 19, 2021

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

When mature, green tree pythons spend a lot of time in trees, often resting their diamond-shaped heads over one or two coils they’ve looped over branches to create a saddle. Here are five other facts about these arboreal snakes:

Green tree pythons start life bright yellow, red or reddish-brown, and don’t become the vibrant green color you see here until they are 6-12 months old.
Their prehensile tail is helpful for climbing and anchoring them in trees. They’ll also drop it down and wiggle the tip, using it as a lure to attract curious prey.
Speaking of hunting, in addition to good eyesight, green tree pythons have thermoreceptive pits in their upper lip area that let them sense the body heat of their prey.
Green tree pythons can wrap themselves around their prey and squeeze them to suffocation. They can then swallow that prey hole.
Green tree pythons are solitary except during mating. A female can produce a clutch of 5-35 eggs, coiling around them and using “muscular shivers” to regulate their temperature.

There’s a lot more to learn about this nonvenomous snake that can be found in Indonesia, New Guinea and Cape York in Australia. You can see this one in the Asia & Indonesia Gallery at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium. Nature. It’s a curious thing.

– Samantha F.

5 Things I Learned about the Red-Bellied Piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri)

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

While they do have sharp teeth and very powerful jaws, contrary to popular belief the red-bellied piranha is quite docile. Here are 5 other facts about this misunderstood fish.

These misunderstood fish can reach lengths of 8 inches long and weigh around 4 pounds.
Red-bellied piranhas travel in groups for protection rather than to take down larger prey.
Piranhas can make different vocalizations that sound like barking, grunting, croaking or the thudding of a drum. They use their swimbladder to make these sounds.
Red-bellied piranha feed on whole small fish, insects and aquatic invertebrates and occasionally plant material and ripe fruit. At the Greater Cleveland Aquarium they eat an omnivorous diet, composed of a variety of items mixed in throughout the week. Things like prepared gel foods, pellets, occasional fresh fruit or veggies, krill and other shell fish and chopped up freshwater fish like minnows, smelt and trout, all make up a well-balanced diet.
The red-bellied piranha is rarely seen in a frenzy unless they are extremely hungry and deprived. These fish get a vicious reputation in part because of some exaggerated claims made about them following one of Teddy Roosevelt’s expeditions to the Amazon. His guides showed him starving piranhas taking down a large animal in a short period of time. While the widely circulated story from the President’s trip might have made them legendary, it was a 1970s’ horror movie that confirmed people’s suspicions the piranha was a man-eating terror.

You can take a closer look at the red-bellied piranha along with other curious creatures in the Tropical Forest Gallery at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium. Nature. It’s a curious thing.

– Tyler H.

5 Things I Learned about Vietnamese Mossy Frogs

September 20, 2021

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

Native to North Vietnam, these mossy frogs live in flooded caves and in the banks of rocky mountain streams. A semi-aquatic species, they spend a significant amount of time submerged with only their eyes poking out over the surface of the water.

Sometimes it can be a challenge to spot the Vietnamese mossy frogs in Greater Cleveland Aquarium’s Asia & Indonesia Gallery. They only grow to be 2.5 to 3.5 inches and they’re flat and wide when resting. Wart-like bumps and green-and-ruddy brown skin give them a moss-like appearance and let them blend with their habitat.

Not only are they masters of camouflage, but they’re also masters of misdirection. Vietnamese mossy frogs can make their voices seem like they are coming for 10 to 13 feet away so predators cannot pinpoint their locations.

Vietnamese mossy frogs have sticky toe discs that help them climb trees and cling to rocky surfaces.

Even with excellent camouflage, climbing abilities and ventriloquist-level vocal skills, predators sometimes track down mossy frogs. When threatened by tree-dwelling mammals or snakes, Vietnamese mossy frogs will curl into a ball.

Next time you visit, see if you can spot the mossy frogs blending in with their surroundings. Nature. It’s curious thing.

Samantha F.

5 Things I Learned about Channel Catfish

September 2, 2021

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

This whiskered, bottom-dweller generally measures 15-25 inches in length, but it can get bigger. Here are 5 other facts about the channel catfish.

These catfish are most active at night. They are also found to be out more often after rain.

Like other catfish, the channel catfish has no scales. It has sharp and deeply serrated spines on the dorsal and pectoral fins. Sometimes when caught, people are often “stung” by the spines on their fins.

Adult channel catfish consume fish like yellow perch and sunfish as well as snails, algae, snakes, frogs, insects, plants and even birds. At the Aquarium, they often enjoy chopped frozen fish like shiners, minnows and silversides, as well as a prepared gel food—think fish Jell-O—as well as a wide variety of pellet food.

Thanks to the Weberian apparatus, which connects the swim bladder to the ear, they are able to amplify vibrations coming from the swim bladder. This gives the channel catfish great ability to hear what is going on in their surroundings.

Channel catfish can live in fresh, brackish, and even saltwater, but they are generally found in freshwater environments, just like the lakes, ponds and rivers right here in Ohio.

You can take a closer look at the channel catfish and other large Ohio gamefish in the Ohio Lakes & Rivers Gallery at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium.

– Tyler H.

Ray Discusses Rays

August 13, 2021

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

My name is Ray. I’m the Curator at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium. My background is in animal care, particularly sharks and stingrays. Today I am going to answer a few stingray questions Annual Passholders have submitted.

What kind of stingrays are at the Aquarium?

Four species of stingray reside here. One freshwater stingray is in the Amazon River exhibit and there are three species of saltwater rays. There are the cownose stingrays, Southern stingrays and one Atlantic stingray.

How is it possible for stingrays and sharks to live together in the Shark Gallery?

They tend to occupy different areas of the water and don’t really interact very much. Just like any other fish in the exhibit, the curation chose them to cohabitate because they cohabitate well.

Why does the freshwater stingray look different than the saltwater ones?

Freshwater stingrays are a whole different genus from saltwater stingrays, so while they do have some common lineage in the past, the reason they look so much different is because of the habitat in which they live. That river stingray lives in murkier waters with darker substrate—leaves and things like that. Its coloration is different for camouflage.

How did saltwater stingrays adapt to live in freshwater?

That is a very good question. That came from millions of years of evolution. There is a common ancestor from a few hundred million years ago that slowly started to live in some of the fresher waters and eventually evolved into freshwater stingrays as we know them. Nowadays a lot of the coastal species of saltwater stingrays do go in brackish areas and occasionally in freshwater. But they can’t do it for long-term, but through evolution a few of them managed to get a little further up stream and stay there permanently.

Are stingrays related to sharks?

Yes, stingrays and sharks are related. They are both in the cartilaginous fish group known as elasmobranchs, and they all have cartilaginous skeletons. (Cartilage like you have in your nose or your earlobes.) That is the biggest distinguishing feature.

How do stingrays eat?

Stingrays are benthic feeders, so they are typically finding food along the sand bed, buried in the sand, on the seafloor or, for freshwater varieties, in the riverbeds. There are a handful of exceptions like a pelagic stingray that can catch fish right out of the water column.

What are the holes I see on the top of the stingrays?

With stingrays being on the bottom of the sea floor, if they took in water through their mouths, they would get a whole mouthful of sand. Instead, they have spiracles on the top of their head so they can bring in new clean water, into their gills and out through gill slits on the bottom. That’s how they breathe. When you see them swim up on the window, you’ll see gill slits on their belly. That is how the water will exit.

Why do stingrays sometimes bury themselves?

That’s dual purpose. It’s for their own protection. But while it helps them hide from predators, as predators themselves it also can help them to hide and wait to ambush their food.

What are baby stingrays called?

Baby stingrays are often called pups, as are most other shark species.

Are stingrays poisonous?

Stingrays are not poisonous, they are venomous. Here is a simple way to remember the difference between poison and venom. If an animal were to attack and you got sick, that is a venom or a toxin. If you eat an animal and get sick, then it is poisonous. If a barb poked you it could envenomate you, so stingrays are venomous.

Why can’t guests be stung by the stingrays in the Aquarium’s touch pool?

First off, stinging is a defense mechanism. Since guests are always polite to our stingrays and these animals are accustomed to the presence of guests, there is no need for them to sting. This touch pool is deeper than many you see. That depth gives the stingrays avoiding human an interaction a choice to swim lower in the water. We also go the extra step and trim the barbs on the stingrays in the touch pool. It’s not unlike trimming the toenails on your dog.

If you want to learn more about stingrays, come visit the stingrays in the Tropical Forest, Coastal Boardwalk and Shark Galleries at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium.

– Ray P.

The Secret Lives of Sea Stars

December 29, 2020

Species Highlights

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

Where is their mouth? How do they move? Why does the animal care team call them sea stars and not starfish? Learn a few basics and discover how different sea stars can be with aquarist Bethany H. #cleaquarium #natureiscurious

Today we’re going to talk about sea stars. The reason we call them sea stars and not starfish most of the time is because they’re not actually fish. They’re in a group called echinoderms, which means spiny skin. Other echinoderms include sea urchins and sea cucumbers, so it’s a big group of invertebrate animals.

We have several different species here at the Aquarium. We will start by looking at the Bahama sea stars that live in the Aquarium’s Invertebrate Pool. They have a bottom surface where you can see their mouths are right there in the middle. They also have rows of tube feet coming out in every direction. Those tube feet end in little suction cups, so that’s how this particular sea star is sticking to the acrylic. Sea stars also have a back surface with little spikes all over it.

The way sea stars move and breathe are really pretty interesting. Both of those work a lot on what is called a water vascular system. You might think of vascular blood vessels. While these guys do have a couple of blood vessels, most of their circulatory system is done with just sea water. That sea water can move their tube feet in and out.

Because we disturbed him, this sea star might decide that this is no longer where he wants to be and start moving very slowly across the acrylic. He’s going to do that by sticking out each tube foot and pulling himself along. Sea stars tend to look like they’re just gliding because their arms aren’t actually moving, just their tube feet. They’re really slow. Their average speed is about six inches a minute. The fastest sea star there is can move about nine feet a minute, which is still quite a bit slower than your walking speed.

Sea stars also use that water vascular system to breathe by sticking little papulae or little hair-like projections out of their backs. All those little white specks in between the big bumps are papulae that are all pulled in right now. Again, sea stars can use hydrostatic pressure inside to move those in and out. When those papulae are sticking out they create a lot of surface area for gas exchange with the water. Then that will circulate through the sea water inside their body to move it all throughout all of their tissues.

This central little dot or light area you can see here is called the madreporite. That’s a big word for something sea stars can open or close to determine how much water is inside of them.

The leather and the pink star in our Coastal Arch exhibit look a lot furrier with all of the papulae out. These are some cold water species. Sea stars do live in different climates all over the world. There are many different species. Most of them have five arms, although there are a few exceptions.

All sea stars can move their arms independently a little bit, but how much they do so is very much dependent on the species. These are all mottled sea stars and as sea stars go, they are probably some of the most flexible.

Author: Bethany H.