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Coral Farms & Giant Clams
The Waikiki Aquarium has pioneered efforts to cultivate corals in aquariums.
Corals require clean, low-nutrient water, warm temperatures, and bright sunlight,
which are easily provided in this outdoor environment. In addition, a 250 gallon (950 liter) surge
device creates the necessary strong, turbulent water motion around the corals in the exhibit. By carefully removing branches from large coral colonies and replanting them on special trays we can continually grow new coral colonies, which may grow 8" (20 cm) per year. We have shipped more than five thousand corals grown in this facility to public aquariums and researchers around the world. You may even see some of these corals in your hometown aquarium in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Houston, Long Beach, New York, Newport News, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco, Sandy, Virginia Beach and other cities.
Like a display of living jewels, the outdoor giant clam display exhibits a wide range of clam species with an array of iridescent colors. Found throughout the South Pacific, Indian Ocean and Red Sea, there are eight known species of giant clam, yet only one, Tridacna gigas, is a true giant reaching lengths of over three feet and weighing over 500 pounds. While smaller, the other species are extremely colorful owing to their symbiotic algae and pigments in their skin. The unique design of this exhibit allows for uninterrupted viewing of these animals from above and contains over 30 specimens representing five species. All the clams in this display were donated by aquaculture operations; none were taken from the wild.
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| Giant clam in the coral farm |
Coral farm |
Giant clams |
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