CretAquarium (Thalassocosmos)- Public Aquarium - II
by Thanassis Balaskas

Next came a number of smaller tanks all of them housing specific species. Due to my special personal preferences, I spend a lot of time in front of a tank housing Mediterranean trigger fish (Balistes capriscus) and filefish (Stephanolepis diaspros). I can ensure you that the species display were equally fascinating as their tropical cousins both in appearance as well as behavior.

Two more special tanks were next. In the first one two different hippocampus species were housed (Hippocampus hippocampus & Hippocampus guttulatus) which are found in the Mediterranean while the second one housed some invertebrates and sponges which are found on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.

Next tank was surely out of the ordinary since it housed jellyfishes. This tank (as well as most of the tanks I saw during my tour there) is a direct proof of the correct planning, knowledge and plenty of work which has made this project a successful one.

Just a bit before exiting this aquarium you will see two fairly large tropical reef tanks. In my opinion, these tanks are still new, since there were very few fish and a small selection of corals but I am sure that after some time they will meet the high standards of the people who run this facility.

I hope I managed to give all of you an idea of what is going on in Crete Aquarium, especially to those who can't visit it for some reason. Surely, time was limited so I couldn't spend more in front of each tank to study it closer. However, this is a good reason for me (and all of you) to pay a visit to beautiful Crete and especially Crete Aquarium. It will make you feel proud because our country has managed to get a high standard public aquarium and you will understand that Mediterranean is full of life, which is really interesting to see and understand.

This article is available in Greek, at

Visit next page to see more photos taken by Babis Tsokas

Official page : http://www.hcmr.gr/english_site/aquaria/crete/