These Small Animals Make a Big Impact

March 28, 2024

Species Highlights

While the giant Pacific octopus or sandtiger sharks always make an impression on Greater Cleveland Aquarium guests, many little animals are capable of doing mighty things, often impacting their ecosystems in invaluable ways. Check out few examples of a few smaller species worthy of your appreciation on your next #cleaquarium visit.

Stoplight Parrotfish

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Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp

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Cookie Dough Sea Cucumber

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Eastern Musk Turtle

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Northern Clingfish

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Plan a visit to Greater Cleveland Aquarium for a BIG look at SMALL species during Spring Discovery Days.

For more small animal fun facts, check out the playlist below:

How Do These Animals Attract a Mate?

February 13, 2024

Species Highlights

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

Love is in the air—and underwater—at Greater Cleveland Aquarium. With Valentine’s Day this week, you might be wondering how certain species at the Aquarium attract mates. Read on for a few fun animal courtship facts, from horseshoe crabs to red-bellied piranhas.

Weedy Seadragons

Weedy seadragon male carrying eggs — Weedy seadragons perform an elaborate courtship dance beginning roughly two to four weeks before breeding. This dance often takes place at sunset and involves two seadragons mirroring each other’s movements.

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Solomon Island Leaf Frog

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Red-Bellied Piranha

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Red-Eared Slider

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Horseshoe Crab

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Plan a visit to Greater Cleveland Aquarium to learn more about species and nearly 250 others. We’d love to “sea” you!

For more Valentine’s Day animal fun facts, check out the playlist below:

Q&A with United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland

January 11, 2024

Community

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

This year, the Aquarium brings back Difference-Makers Days in partnership with United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland, a week-long event (Monday, January 15 – Sunday, January 21, 2024) highlighting UBF’s work and the achievements of African American innovators.

Guests save $5 on daily admission through the week, and $1 of every ticket sold directly benefits UBF, who will be onsite for MLK Day and January 20-21 to share their mission.

Ahead of Difference-Makers Days, we caught up with UBF Development Coordinator Adrianne Sims for a Q&A discussing the organization’s ongoing impact on Northeast Ohio’s Black community.

United Black Fund at Greater Cleveland Aquarium — Development Coordinator Adrianne Sims (Left)

Question: What is the mission of United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland?
Adrianne Sims: At the United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland, we believe in actively engaging with our agency partners to help them become sustainable and growth-oriented resources for their communities. We understand the importance of aiding those in need, and that’s why we strive to better prepare the nonprofits that serve them. We’re committed to making a positive impact on the Black community, and we’re here to support our partners every step of the way.

Question: How does UBF impact the Northeast Ohio community?
Adrianne Sims: We are deeply moved by the significant milestones we have achieved in our efforts to support the Black community. Our MORTAR Cleveland Program has successfully launched its first cohort of Black entrepreneurs, and we have been the unwavering financial foundation for several large-scale movements and events that empower the Black community, such as the FutureLAND Conference 2.0. Our commitment to supporting Black-led and owned businesses, particularly those led by Black women, is fueled by our understanding of the challenges they face. We strive to change the narrative that Cleveland is not a favorable place for them and are dedicated to making it a better place. Moreover, we have launched two $25,000 grant initiatives specifically designed to address Black needs. We pledge to continue our efforts to empower and support the Black community and to stand with them through their struggles.

Question: How can people in the community contribute to UBF’s mission?
Adrianne Sims: We understand the importance of giving back to the community, and that’s why we at the United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland are grateful for the incredible generosity of our donors and foundations. It’s their kindness that enables us to provide vital resources and support to various organizations, helping us further our mission of empowering and uplifting the community. We welcome you to join us in this inspiring movement toward positive change in the Black community by visiting our website or connecting with me (Adrianne Sims, Development Coordinator) to learn more about how you can contribute to this cause. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of those who need it the most.

Question: What are some of the biggest challenges facing the Black community in Northeast Ohio today?
Adrianne Sims: It’s crucial to acknowledge the tough realities that the Black community in Northeast Ohio are facing. It’s heartbreaking to know that Cleveland has been designated as the worst city in America for Black women, but we understand that this is just a fraction of an even more significant issue. The environment in which our community lives has a profound impact on our access to quality healthcare, economic stability, affordable housing and quality education. We understand that immediate action must be taken to ensure that the Black community in Northeast Ohio receives the resources and support it deserves to thrive and have the quality of life that every human deserves. We feel the need to connect the dots of environmental justice and uplift Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of justice for all by linking it to the environment, climate, housing stability, healthcare and education because we firmly believe that every individual deserves to live in a safe and prosperous environment.

Question: What have been some of the benefits of the UBF and Greater Cleveland Aquarium partnership?
Adrianne Sims: There have been many benefits: This partnership has expanded the information, (our mission, programs, Grantees and Donor Advised Funds, etc.), of United Black Fund to Greater Cleveland Aquarium’s audience. Attendees have actively engaged with UBF about the new information regarding Greater Cleveland and the African American community. This collaboration has raised awareness of pioneering African American marine scientists and environmental researchers, along with highlighting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his work not only in our nation, but in the Greater Cleveland area too!

For more information on UBF and Difference-Makers Day, visit the event page here. Can’t visit during Difference-Makers Days? Anyone interested in supporting UBF is encouraged to visit unitedblackfund.org and/or “Text to Give” by sending UBF to 50155

What’s On These Animals’ Wish Lists?

December 6, 2023

Species Highlights

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

At Greater Cleveland Aquarium, the holidays are for giving thanks and meaningful gifts. Let’s take a look at a few of the animals who call the Aquarium home, and the presents on their wish lists this year.

Picasso Triggerfish at Greater Cleveland Aquarium — Named for its vibrant bands of color, the Picasso triggerfish wishes for a new paint brush set.

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Snowflake eel at Greater Cleveland Aquarium — Snowflake eels want a tunnel to play and relax in. Tight spaces make them feel at home.

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Archerfish at Greater Cleveland Aquarium — Archerfish have impeccable aim when they shoot water as far as 6 feet at prey, knocking them into the water. Let’s get this one a dart board!

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Harlequin Sweetlips at Greater Cleveland Aquarium — Known for its plump lips that get more prominent with age, the harlequin sweetlips wants a new shade of lip stick for the holidays.

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Eastern Musk Turtle at Greater Cleveland Aquarium — The eastern musk turtle, known for the smell it produces to deter predators, surely has perfume on its wishlist.

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Blue Runner at Greater Cleveland Aquarium — Maybe not the fastest fish, blue runners still live up to their name with a fresh pair of tennis shoes.

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You can see these animals and more when you visit Greater Cleveland Aquarium. Check out the Aquarium’s See & Do page for a chance to see some of these species and nearly 250 others as you learn about their habitats and how you might support them.

What Are These Animals’ Favorite Meals?

November 21, 2023

Species Highlights

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

All animals have their favorite foods, just like people do. This Thanksgiving, while humans are filling up on turkey and stuffing, these species want tasty treats like mice, crickets, crayfish and even sea monkeys.

Green Tree Python — Green tree pythons love to eat live mice like they would in the wild.

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Sandbar sharks prefer a hearty helping of squid for dinner.

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Freshwater stingrays like this ocellate river stingray often dine on crayfish.

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Moon jellies make a meal out of teeny tiny brine shrimp.

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This crested wood partridge looks for crickets when it needs a tasty treat.

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You can see these animals and more when you visit Greater Cleveland Aquarium. Check out the Aquarium’s See & Do page for a chance to see some of these species and others dine on their favorite snacks.

What’s In a Name?

September 22, 2023

Species Highlights

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

How animals earn their monikers can be surprising. Their common names can come from the places they’re found, the people who discovered them or even fictional characters. The names of the ten Aquarium residents below are inspired by their appearance and/or actions.

Shovelnose Sturgeon – Check out that shovel-shaped snout.

Red-eared Slider – This turtle is named for the red patch on its ear AND the way it slides into the water when startled.

Clown Knifefish – This fish’s knife-like shape allows it to swim both forwards and backwards.

Crystal-eyed Catfish – Frank Sinatra might have been “ol’ blue eyes,” but this catfish gets attention for its light blue peepers.

Dyeing Poison Dart Frog – This name comes from an unverified legend that indigenous people used these colorful frogs to dye parrot feathers.

Picasso Triggerfish – This peculiar-looking fish has bright, artsy colors AND a dorsal spine will raise when startled.

Hammer Coral – Note the hammer shape of these coral polyps.

Scrawled Cowfish – The “horns” above its eyes and irregular body markings are what give the scrawled cowfish a distinctive appearance.

Raccoon Butterflyfish – This butterflyfish is named for the black-and-white “mask” around its eyes.

Black Drum – This fish can make drumming or croaking sounds with muscle movement around its swim bladder.

See these and other animals with interesting names and backstories at Greater Cleveland Aquarium.

-Lili F.

*Hammer Coral Photo Courtesy David Davies, via Flickr.com

Best Places to Dive: Cleveland Water Intake Crib #5 – Cleveland, OH

July 13, 2023

Diving

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

When you think of diving in Lake Erie, you probably picture hazy green images of the many shipwrecks that litter these waters. Hundreds of wrecks have been discovered in the Great Lake and perhaps thousands more exist, but Halle Minshall has an entirely different suggestion for a top Lake Erie dive site.

“One of the coolest dives in the Great Lakes is the Cleveland Water Intake Crib #5. This dive is so exciting because of all the history 50 feet below the surface,” Halle says.

If you’ve ever passed over the Shoreway and looked toward the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, perhaps you’ve noticed the orange and white cylinder a few miles out. It might look like a freighter approaching this working river, but it never moves. It’s actually a water intake crib—a permanent structure that pulls freshwater from the lake and ultimately into the taps in businesses and homes in the Greater Cleveland area.

But the crib that we see three miles into the lake, called Five-Mile Crib or the Kirtland Crib (because it lies five miles away from the Kirtland Pumping Station at East 49^th Street), is one of four cribs in the lake and the only one above water. A short distance from the Five-Mile Crib, invisible from shore, is a white buoy that marks the location of the underwater crib that Halle loves to dive.

“In the early 1900s, city workers built a cofferdam and created the intake crib to provide water to the residents to the city of Cleveland. All the tools and supplies they used to construct the crib were discarded in the surrounding waters and make for a walk back through history,” Halle reports. Incredibly, the above-water crib was finished in 1904 and the underwater Crib #5 was extended from a crib closer to shore and completed in 1916, but not without tragedy.

Cleveland’s downtown cribs are in 50 feet of water. Diggers, called “sand hogs,” dug another 50 feet under the bottom of the lake before making a 90-degree turn and then tunneling back to shore. The Five-Mile Crib displays a plaque in honor of the 38 men killed during the construction completed in 1904 (and does not include many more who perished from a then little-understood effect called “the bends”).

Then, during the construction of Crib #5, there was a terrible explosion when workers hit a gas pocket in 1916, resulting in the death of another 21 men. The use of a safety hood (an early prototype of the gas mask) developed by Cleveland inventor Garrett Morgan led to the rescue of two men and the recovery of several bodies. In 1991, the treatment plant connecting to Crib #5 was renamed the Garrett A. Morgan Water Treatment Plant in his honor.

At the dive site, divers encounter bulwarks rising 20 feet from the bottom, supporting the outside rim of the crater-like intake crib. The 20-foot opening is large enough that divers aren’t sucked into the grated entrance, and the moving water leads to unusual clarity for a Lake Erie dive. “The construction tools used to build this water intake crib over 100 years ago are easily accessible and visible and yet the divers who visit this site leave them unmolested, further preserving a piece of our history,” Halle says. The elevation of the intake was carefully considered, avoiding ice and boat traffic at the surface, as well as sludge and bacteria that gather at the bottom of the lake.

“This is one of my favorite dives I have ever done in Lake Erie, the history and culture tied together with the modern-day need for drinking water are fascinating,” says Halle, continuing, “The technology and precision needed to make a tunnel like this, miles out into the lake and a connecting horizontal tunnel under the lakebed, fascinates me.”

The four Cleveland cribs provide clean freshwater to 1.4 million customers in the Greater Cleveland area. “I don’t think very many Clevelanders consider where our water comes from or how it gets from the lake to your faucet. We are so lucky to be geographically situated with such bountiful natural resources,” Halle says.

Cleveland Water Intake Crib is the ninth in our weekly series of the Aquarium dive team’s favorite dive locations. Stay tuned for the final destination and suggest somewhere new we might want to explore.

Ray D.

Best Places to Dive: Fiji Islands

June 29, 2023

Diving

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

Nicknamed the “Soft Coral Capital of the World” by none other than famous oceanographic explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau (son of Jacques), the islands of Fiji are a year-round diving destination filled to the brim with assorted sea life.

Greater Cleveland Aquarium diver Craig Zwegat has over 700 dives in his 14 years of diving, so he knows a thing or two about exotic dive locations. His visit to the Fiji Islands was memorable both for the wonders under the water as well as how he was embraced by the local Fijian culture. Read any dive guide of the area and they can’t help but insert a comment about how welcoming and friendly the locals are to their guests. A 2014 Gallup Poll even named Fiji the happiest country in the world.

The Republic of Fiji consists of approximately 320 islands in the South Pacific, of which about one hundred are inhabited. The indigenous name of the islands is Viti, an Austronesian word meaning “east” or “sunrise”, which makes sense as the closest continent, Australia, lies almost 3,000 miles west of Fiji, roughly a four-hour plane ride.

The islands are well-known for their soft corals that wave in the current like so many giant, techno-colored fans and fingers. Every kind of tiny prey fish imaginable hide within these corals, attracting larger and larger predators to the area for a diver’s viewing pleasure. At the top of the food chain, divers have enjoyed swimming with tiger sharks, bull sharks, and giant hammerheads.

Dive operations are largely run out of the two largest Fiji Islands, Viti Levu (“Great Fiji”) and Vanua Levu (“Great Land”), which then launch to many of the smaller islands known for certain specialty dives. Taveuni Island is known for the “Great White Wall,” an almost vertical wall blanketed in coral that starts at 80 feet and goes far beyond recreational limits. For those seeking sharks, Viti Levu has an 80-foot dive known for bull and tiger sharks as well as nurse, lemon and reef sharks. Kadavu Island, directly south of Viti Levu, is the place to find manta rays as well as giant ocean predators like tuna and marlin. Drift divers will enjoy spotting octopuses, crabs and eels as they zip along the underwater currents off Vanua Levu. And just a few kicks off each island are those famous soft corals.

“Ni sa bula Vinaka” means hello in Fijian, or “Wishing you happiness and good health.” It’s a long flight from the US, about 11 hours from LAX to Nadi Airport, but what diver worth their salt wouldn’t want to follow in Jean-Michel Cousteau and Craig Zwegat’s footsteps and visit this diving nirvana?

Kona, Hawaii is the eight in our weekly series of the Aquarium dive team’s favorite dive locations. Stay tuned for the remaining two destinations and suggest somewhere new we might want to explore.

Ray D.

Best Places to Dive: Kona, Hawaii

June 22, 2023

Diving

Written by Greater Cleveland Aquarium

Kona, Hawaii is world-renowned for two things: Kona coffee and swimming with manta rays at night.

While the mineral-rich volcanic soil and mild climate of Kona has created one of the most expensive coffees in the world, a bit of Pavlovian conditioning has led to a reliably fantastic dive site. With wingspans of up to 23 feet, manta rays are gentle giants that have become drawn to the underwater light systems that both light up their viewing site and attract the plankton they feed on. This little spot on the western side of the Big Island may be known for its night dives with manta rays, but aquarist Mallory Haskell also reported terrific daytime diving as well.

“The water was crystal clear and we saw soooooo many of the colorful tropical fish you think of with reefs,” Mallory says. She also swam with spotted eagle rays and white tip reef sharks in Kona’s waters. Mallory worked at Greater Cleveland Aquarium from 2012 to 2014 and was certified to dive during this stint. She returned to the Aquarium in 2018.

As if Hawaii didn’t have enough going for it, the steep slopes of the volcanic mountains plummet prodigiously just off the coast of Kona. Three miles offshore, the water is 1000 fathoms deep. For those who haven’t read Moby Dick recently, a fathom is equivalent to six feet, meaning there’s a mile drop off and a bevy of large pelagic fish near shore – marlin, wahoo, sailfish and mahi mahi included.

Kona, Hawaii is the seventh in our weekly series of the Aquarium dive team’s favorite dive locations. Stay tuned for the remaining three destinations and suggest somewhere new we might want to explore.

Ray D.