Shreveport Aquarium

The Shreveport Aquarium is an aquarium located in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States.

The aquarium is adjacent to the Red River, near the Texas Street Bridge. It holds seven galleries that hold the 3,000 animals in its care, and a restaurant named SALT (Sea Air Land and Time). It is open all-year to the public as a for-profit aquarium,^[1] and is currently seeking membership of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.^[2]

Exhibits

The galleries are entered as visitors walk from the entrance to the exit. The first encounter is the WOW Gallery, which contains mainly reef fish like blue tangs and angelfish. Following the WOW Gallery is the Shipwreck gallery, exhibiting dedicated lionfish and clownfish tanks. The Caddo Lake themed Dome on the Bayou serves as the only freshwater themed gallery of the aquarium. In partnership with the Caddo Lake Institute,^[3] the gallery holds American paddlefish in efforts to keep the wild population stable, there are other animals like sliders, an Alligator snapping turtle, Largemouth bass, and ducks. After the Dome of the Bayou comes the first touch pool zone, Shore Explore. Themed as a tide pool from the Oregon Coast, visitors can touch kelp crabs, bat stars, green anemone, and purple sea urchins. After passing the cave gallery of flashlight fish, comes the 30,000 gallon Ocean Tank,^[4] the largest gallery of the aquarium. As visitors pass through an acrylic tunnel, they'll encounter more reef fish species, as well as gray reef sharks. After passing the Ocean Tank, is the second interactive gallery, Contact Cove. Visitors can touch cownose rays, common stingrays, or get their hands cleaned by cleaner shrimp. The last gallery is the Submarine gallery, which has moon jellies to touch, as well as juvenile Japanese spider crab to view through a pop-up dome.

References