Disney Aquariums

[yveterinarian]

While at Disney's Epcot Theme park the other day I saw what had to be, in my opinion, one of the cutest marine creatures; the Dwarf Cuttlefish! The adults get to a maximum of 10cm long and have the full color changing capabilities of their larger ocean counterparts. Disney had a tank of adults and a smaller tank with newly hatched and just hatching babies. The babies are only 1cm long when first hatched and already begin changing colors! Here is a video of one of the adults:

A few photos taken of them:

This is an adult cuttlefish. The tank they have them in is round so it may appear bigger than it is but it was still very small.

A few of the baby cuttlefish. The one on the right is newly hatched and is approximately 1cm long. Photo taken by my daughter Heather (she wanted credit attached )

This little baby found his way to the top of a coconut decoration and is sitting with it's tentacle open looking for food. (photo taken by Heather)

After seeing these amazing creatures I looked them up and found they only live about 1 year. They are available for hobbyists but I didn't get as far as to look to see if they were available in Canada - I didn't want to start a new obsession quite yet! Although they were very tempting...

 

[yveterinarian]

Here are some other pics taken of the aquariums and their inhabitants...

Seahorses of course!

These little guys are making me miss mine. I wonder how they are all doing? I have not heard anything from my pet sitters so I'm hoping no news is good news...

Eel tank. Dave was drooling...

Round Reef tank. I was drooling... I would love a round tank like this

A Manatee that was rescued after getting into an accident with a propeller. My daughter fell in love with the manatees so tomorrow we are going swimming with the Manatees on a 3 hour boat tour. More pictures to come...

 

[EricTMah]

Cool pics

I've always loved cuttlefish.

I'd set up a tank specifically for them in a heartbeat if I were able to get my hands on them. But I've heard that they don't ship well and thats why they're uncommon here in Canada

 

[KBennett]

The coral reef shop had them a while ago... If i remember correctly, he was giving them away.

 

[EricTMah]

Really?!?

Man! I would've been all over that if I had known

 

[unibob]

Really?!?

Man! I would've been all over that if I had known

I do remember seeing them there as well. I recall them being the "blue cuttlefish"

Really cool looking and thanks for sharing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KBennett]

http://www.coralreefshop.com/index.php/latest-news/88-free-cuttlefish-this-weekend

He keeps all his announcements online...

 

[EricTMah]

Thanks

I'll keep a close eye on them.

I really want one!

 

[yveterinarian]

Thanks

I'll keep a close eye on them.

I really want one!

I see a new obsession in my future... I think I'll keep an eye out too!

 

[sunnykita]

Hi Yvette and family, it sounds like the trip is all you expected it to be ! You'll have to let us know how the swimming with the manatees went. I love those creatures. I enjoyed the video of the cuttlefish, cool little characters ! Enjoy every moment !

 

[yveterinarian]

As promised here are some pictures of our Manatee experience:

Starting out on our trip. We are the three on the left. It was very hot that morning and the wetsuits were sweltering so any of us didn't put the sleeves on until it was time to get into the water.

Mother Manatee grazing on the bottom. She had churned up the water quite a bit so it was very murky that day.

Baby Manatee. This baby was approximately the same length as I am tall. When the guide was trying to take me over to see the mother the baby swam right under me along my full length and brushed against me on it's way past. The skin is very much like an Elephant's in texture.

Baby Mantatee saying "Hi" to one of the swimmers

Mother Manatee at the surface. This should give an idea of her size in comparison with all of us.

It was a truly fabulous experience to swim with these majestic animals in their natural environment. They completely ignored us with the exception of when the baby came to say "Hi". I would recommend it to anyone going to Florida. The guides were very respectful of the Manatees and kept reminding all of us to allow the Manatees to graze without our interference. We basically floated above them and were allowed to touch only if they came to see us. Since the baby touched me I felt comfortable reaching out to touch it as it swam under me. Wonderful

 

[Poseidon]

That's awesome!
Thanks for sharing

 

[sunnykita]

What a cool experience Yvette! love the photos, thanks for sharing !