The Living Seas - Sick Fish??

[KLETCO]

I did DiveQuest in January and I didn't notice this. However, when I was at the Living Seas over the weekend, the fish all seemed to have some sort of white stuff on their faces that looked like some sort of illness. Has anyone else noticed this? Is there a Cast Member that can give some sort of insight as to what is up with the fish in the aquarium?

[ibrowse17]

Not sure what the white stuff is, but much has been made of the decline of the tank at LS. When we ate at the Coral Sea's last June, it so so murky you could hardly see across the tank. I hope they can get this corrected.

[DNS]

Something not good seems to have been going on for about 3 years now. Honestly, it's depressing to even go in.

[gregburg]

A problem that is common to aquarium fish (big aquariums) is how they lose scales around their faces over time. There is some thinking that this is due to lack of sunlight. The main environment at living seas does not get any sunlight.

Last fall when I did DiveQuest, a CM told us that they are planning on putting real sky lights over the tank to let natural light in to the tank. The con to this though will be an increase in algea within the tank which will mean more maintanence. The hope is that the added light will be better for the fish.

Side note: the Dolphins off stage tank (which is connected to the main tank) has a large sky light.

As for the visibility last year, there was a lot of moving around of stuff within the aquarium for the new Nemo ride. This caused the water to get pretty cloudy. I did two dives there last year, both were a bit off from the ones that I did the year before. Normally the water is as clear as it can get, 208 feet straight across the tank. Pretty amazing compared to open water. One note is that the filteration system for the main aquarium is very impressive. Something like it moves as much water as Orlando's water system every 2 hours or so. With DiveQuest you get to see the filter building which is behind the main building. Let's just say it's not your run of the mill filter :).

-Greg

[mrsgaribaldi]

I didn't notice anything in Feb but I will have to look in May. I love the big tanks:thumbsup:

[Kristi Kay]

I haven't ever thought about the fish not getting enough light and that being a problem. I hope they get the lights instaled soon....

[JPL]

I find it interesting that the fish were healthy when they had a sponsor. The decline started shortly after the loss of United Technologies sponsorship. It's sad that when Disney was getting millions a year we had a healthy diverse population of Fish dating back from the opening of the pavillion. There was no talk of lack of sunlight or other reasons for sick fish there simply weren't any noticeably sick fish. I believe what happened here was Disney let the pavillion slip in hopes of attracting new sponsor when they couldn't find one they quickly change the focus from a poorly kept aquarium to Nemo.

[jclightchasr]

the fish have been in poor shape the last 3 vistits I have made. I hope they can remedy this. It also seems to me that the number of fish species has taken a decline as well.

[jaredkari]

When my husband and I went in 2002, we noticed in one of the tanks, there was only 1 dolphin. I don't know much about dolphins, but I always thought they were very social animals, and it made me sad to see only 1 dolphin in the tank. There were no other fish, dolphins, ANYTHING, just one lonely dolphin. Hopefully he has found a friend or two since then:):dolphin: :dolphin:

[gregburg]

Keep in mind that the fish can live for quite some time. As they age they aren't going to look quite as nice. I don't think that Disney sends the older ones out to the farm to live out there remaining days if you get my drift. Thus if the population is at it's limit they can't bring new ones in. Plus young fish may not do well with the older ones that are in the aquarium.

I do remember when LS first opened back in 1986. At that time you would have seen much more colorful fish in the tank. I can remember lots of Blue Tangs for example (Dori). But overtime that fish was most likely not the best for the main aquarium since they prefer a real reef, and the large aquarium is not set up to be a "real" reef. That is very difficult to do on a large scale.

As for the dolphins, last Fall there were a total of 4 dolphins, all male. They spend quite a bit of time in the off stage area that they can enter and leave as they please.

-Greg

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . I find it interesting that the fish were healthy when they had a sponsor . . . I believe what happened here was Disney let the pavillion in hopes of attractiong a new sponsor when they couldn't find one they quickly change the focus from a poorly kept aquarium to Nemo . . .

logical and reasonable assumption!

[DNS]

I find it interesting that the fish were healthy when they had a sponsor. The decline started shortly after the loss of United Technologies sponsorship. It's sad that when Disney was getting millions a year we had a healthy diverse population of Fish dating back from the opening of the pavillion. There was no talk of lack of sunlight or other reasons for sick fish there simply weren't any noticeably sick fish. I believe what happened here was Disney let the pavillion in hopes of attractiong a new sponsor when they couldn't find one they quickly change the focus from a poorly kept aquarium to Nemo.
I agree. This was once my favorite at Epcot. Now it's just sad. I haven't been there since the Nemo change though.

[PrincessJadesMom]

The "white stuff" sounds like a fish disease called "ich" which are actually parasites that attach around the gills of the fish, but I'm not sure if that happens with large fish or if that's only a small aquarium problem.

[Jeff G]

The last time we were in WDW a few of the angels appeared to have "Hole In The Head Disease" which is what I assume your seeing. This is a common disease that occurs in a few marine species when held in captivity. It starts off as a single white hole in the skin and continues to spread on the face area until the whole face is white(almost a mask). Most diseases come on as a fish is weakend, in home aquariums the main causes are poor water quality, recent transefer or age. Being that the aqaurium at Disney is so large and there are so many other fish in the aquarium that seem to be healthy and thriving I doubt it wouldbe the water quality. I would guess this to be weakend or older fish. I also doubt it is due to the low light levels, many of these fish species live deep in reefs and get limited light in their natural enviroment.

I've also been to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and noticed that occasionally a few of their fish will have the same thing and with all the expertise between both the Shedd and Disney and the giant filters on these aquariums I doubt it is the quality of water.

[atruman]

I believe what happened here was Disney let the pavillion slip in hopes of attracting new sponsor when they couldn't find one they quickly change the focus from a poorly kept aquarium to Nemo.

Problem being, I'm simply not sure what about a poorly kept aquarium is likely to attract a sponsor. I don't think most sponsors are likely to want to put their name on something substandard. Not to mention, the shift to Nemo was hardly what I would call "quick."