Taraporewala Aquarium

Taraporewala Aquarium or Taraporevala Aquarium is India's oldest aquarium and one of the city's main attractions.[3] It hosts marine and freshwater fishes. The aquarium is located on Marine Drive in Mumbai..

Taraporewala Aquarium
Date opened1951
LocationMarine Drive, Mumbai
Coordinates18.9492866°N 72.8200758°E / 18.9492866; 72.8200758
No. of species400
Volume of largest tank22,000
Annual visitors400000[1][2]

It was re-opened after renovation on 3 March 2015.[4] The renovated aquarium has a 12-feet long and 180 degree acrylic glass tunnel.[5] [6] The fish will be kept in large glass tanks, which will be lit with LED lights.[3]

2,000 fishes of over 400 species and has been renovated at a cost of Rs.22 crore (approx Rs 7.5 crore for aquariums and Rs. 16.5 crore for construction work done by Public Works department) .[7] The exotic fish from overseas has been introduced at the new aquarium the number of new varieties of marine fish at 70. Helicopter,Arowana,Grouper,yellow-striped tang, blue-spotted stingray, star, clown, hark, trigger, Grouper, Moorish idol,[3] Azure Damsel, Blueline Demoiselle, Purple Firefish, Cloudy Damsel, Copperband Butterflyfish, Schooling Bannerfish, Raccoon Butterflyfish, White Tail Trigger, Clown Triggerfish and Blue Ribbon Eel. The 40 new varieties of freshwater fish would include Red Devil, Jaguar, Electric Blue Jack Dempsey,Frontosa and Catfish. These fishes will be housed in larger tanks than before with imported flexi glass for better visibility.[8] It also has sharks, turtles, rays, moray eels, sea turtles, small starfish and stingrays.

The Aquarium is maintained by Department of Fisheries itself. In the aquarium's 16 sea water tanks and 9 Fresh water tanks, there are 31 types of fish, while 32 tropical tanks contains 54 kind of fishes.[1] The tropical section of the aquarium already feature different ecosystems such as the "moss aquarium" for pregnant fishes, "plantation aquarium" that features imported varieties of water lilies and other aquatic plants and "island aquarium".[9]

Visit Schedule & Fees
  • Aquarium is open for visitors From 10:00 am to 8:00pm for Ground Floor only, except Monday

Adults ₹60/- Kids below 12 yrs ₹30 Govt Employees ₹30/-

  • Additional charges for photography

For clicking pictures ₹500 For taking video ₹1000

New attractions
Inside View
  • Oceanarium in the foyer with 22,000 l (5,800 US gal) water.
  • Amphitheatre with 50 seats, screening documentaries on fish, marine ecosystems and environment conservation.
  • Touch pool, where curious visitors can touch star fish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and turtles.
  • Fish spa. You can dip your feet in one of ten tanks of Doctor fish (Garra rufa). The fish nibble and remove dead skin from your feet and legs.[8]
  • Coral and rocky ecosystems with aquascaping and LED lighting.
  • Semi-circular tank housing jelly fish.

Species of fishes
  • Damselfishes: territorial fish species including golden damselfish, moon tail, cocoa, striped, electric blue, talbot, and sergeant major damsel
  • Butterflyfishes: chevron, copper band, long-nose, eight band, red perl
  • Angelfishes : blue ring, regal, wraft and emperor angel fishes
  • Triggerfishes : undulated, bluetooth, picasso and clown triggers
  • Marine eels: yellow head, white ribbon, black ribbon, blue ribbon and moray eel
  • Marine touch pool with sea cucumber, sea urchin, brittle star, tube worms, star fish and more
  • Groupers: sweetlip, panther, orange spot and black spot groupers
  • Tangs: yellow, powder brown, naso, orange shoulder, and powder blue
  • Unique species: oranda, stone, red cap, rukin, and black moor
  • Other species including bat fish, squirrel fish, golden travery, puffers, jelly fishes, kombada, lion and turkey fish, dwarf lion, whimple, moorish idol, marine coral reef, wrasse, sea anemone, negro, clarkii, and arowana
  • Paludarium aquarium with Indian carps: rohu, catla, mrigal
  • Tropical aquarium fishes, red tail, sucker, upside down and Asiatic cat fishes
  • Other species include: octopuses, seahorses, alligators, catfishes, giant gourami, cichlids, koi, gold fish, sea turtles, red-eared slider and Singaporean turtle

History

Taraporewala Aquarium was built in 1951 at a cost of ₹800,000 (US$11,000). It had been inaugurated by India’s first president Rajendra Prasad.[1] The aquarium is named after a Parsee Philanthropist D B Taraporewala who donated ₹200,000 (US$2,800) for the construction.

References
  1. "Fin & frolic: India's oldest aquarium gets a grand revamp". Rediff. 25 February 2015.
  2. "After 130 fish deaths and a Rs 3-crore budget escalation, aquarium to reopen". newsbun.com.
  3. Mahamulkar, Sujit; Tembhekar, Chittaranjan (24 February 2015). "Your kids can touch fish at renovated Taraporevala Aquarium from Friday". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  4. "Mumbai gets its aquarium back, but don't expect a world-class one". Rediff. 3 March 2015.
  5. "Mumbai's famous Taraporevala Aquarium reopens in new avatar". mid-day. 3 March 2015.
  6. "Exotic fish from China in tow, Taraporewala Aquarium re-opens in a month". dna.
  7. Press Trust of India (3 March 2015). "Renovated Taraporevala Aquarium in Mumbai reopens". business-standard.com.
  8. "More than just fish watching". The Indian Express. 1 January 2014.
  9. "Revamped Taraporewala will have tunnel aquarium at entrance - The Indian Express". The Indian Express. 23 June 2014.
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