Aquarium of the Americas

[GaryP]

I was a member of the Aquarium when we lived in New Orleans. I thought I would pass along the following article. I was glad to see that their sea dragons survived. They had an unbelievable Hippocampidae (sea horse family) collection, including both species of dragons. Some reefer friends and an unbelievable LFS (Coral Connection) in NO were getting ready to start a project to help them with their reef tanks when we left. The reef tanks were the biggest disappointment I had at the Aquarium and needed some help from some serious reefers.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060101/ap_on_sc/katrina_aquarium_reviving

The LFS I mentioned started off as a frag farm in the owner's back yard and had a frag room with as many gallons as some LFS. I couldn't leave there without a frag. They had a 800 gal. show tank that I would sometimes sit in front of for an hour. It had some huge bubble tip anemones that were over a foot across as well as some tangs that could have only been kept in a tank that size.

[pickle311]

I have been to Coral Connection a few times. I used to drive from Baton Rouge to there to get frags. They had an awesome setup and that 800g tank was unbelieveable.

[GaryP]

I checked their website a little while ago. It seems they are back up and running, but I wonder how much business they have. I think a lot of NO reefers have more pressing problems then getting their tanks up and running. Such as having a home to live in. I have a feeling that CC probably wasn't flooded badly because of their location. They are just across the street from the airport and it didn't seem to get hit with a lot of flooding. How the power outages affected them is another matter.

[TheCampbells]

I have always wanted to go visit. I finally got a chance and cancelled the trip because of the hurricance

[pickle311]

I checked their website a little while ago. It seems they are back up and running, but I wonder how much business they have. I think a lot of NO reefers have more pressing problems then getting their tanks up and running. Such as having a home to live in. I have a feeling that CC probably wasn't flooded badly because of their location. They are just across the street from the airport and it didn't seem to get hit with a lot of flooding. How the power outages affected them is another matter.

I have a strong feeling that the majority of the people in that area that got hit would have been using their halides to grow something other than corals. According to the news, the ghetto was the only area that recieved any damage. :D

[GaryP]

The area I lived in is a swamp now, and it wasn't the 5th ward. Did you hear the story about the people that died in the nursing home? That was few blocks from where I lived in Chalmette.

[pickle311]

The area I lived in is a swamp now, and it wasn't the 5th ward. Did you hear the story about the people that died in the nursing home? That was few blocks from where I lived in Chalmette.

yea, I did hear about that. That whole area is bad. I didn't know you were a Chalmation. I can't wait for the next meeting now so I can pick on you some. :P

[falcondob]

I was a member of the Aquarium when we lived in New Orleans. I thought I would pass along the following article. I was glad to see that their sea dragons survived. They had an unbelievable Hippocampidae (sea horse family) collection, including both species of dragons.

Do you think MAAST could take on a fund-raiser, frag-raiser, fish-raiser, what ever works, for the Aquarium? Do they need it or do they have enough support already?
John

[GaryP]

Do you think MAAST could take on a fund-raiser, frag-raiser, fish-raiser, what ever works, for the Aquarium? Do they need it or do they have enough support already?
John
Yea, I have been kicking that idea around myself, but like I said, their reef tanks weren't much before the flood. I don't know how interested they would be in frags. Besides, they have insurance and I can think of some other local organizations that might be a better candidate for that sort of thing.

[GaryP]

yea, I did hear about that. That whole area is bad. I didn't know you were a Chalmation. I can't wait for the next meeting now so I can pick on you some. :P
I'm not. I just lived there for a little less than a year. I'm originally from here.