The Sochi Aquarium is a unique world-class structure built in the resort town of Adler District, on the territory of the Riviera Park and opened on December 26, 2009.
The author of the project is ATEX SEZ International from the United Arab Emirates, specializing in the construction of entertainment complexes, exhibition centers, water parks and oceanariums. Since the aquarium in Sochi is a megaproject, experts from other countries who are somehow connected with water attractions took part in it. Engineers from Australia, China and New Zealand were invited to participate in the creation of the project.
Oceanarium in Sochi. "Riviera" - the park where the complex is located
Sochi Park "Riviera" has become the location of a unique exhibition complex with thousands of live exhibits. The largest aquarium in Sochi, called the Sochi Discovery World Aquarium, is located on an area of six thousand square meters and consists of 30 aquariums, each of which is designed for a certain type of marine fauna. Aquariums contain more than five million liters of water: marine - for the inhabitants of the ocean depths, and fresh - for representatives of the river and lake fauna. Below is a tunnel that creates a sense of presence in the body of water.
The Sochi Aquarium, the photo of which is presented in the article, is a unique aquarium complex, the only one in Russia that has thousands of live exhibits that can compete with world-class aquariums. During its construction, the latest technologies were used to dock the modules, which were supposed to withstand the multi-ton pressure of millions of cubic meters of water, and the calculated strength characteristics were several times higher than the required design potential. Safety margin was maintained at a level hundreds of times higher than optimal. Transparent acrylic walls had to withstand the earthquake, tsunami, and hurricane.
Complex Structures
Each visitor to the Sochi Aquarium can feel like the master of the deep sea - Poseidon, and at the same time he will miss only the trident. Otherwise, everything, as in the underwater kingdom, is surrounded by algae, corals, grottoes and caves. Thousands of small and large fish gather in flocks and swim over the heads of tourists. And crabs and starfish slowly move along the bottom. When a huge shark appears, everyone freezes, a sea predator causes numbness even at a distant distance, and here the shark swims up to the distance of an outstretched arm.
Much calmer in the sector of freshwater lakes and streams with spanning bridges, dense forest and waterfalls overturning from basalt cliffs. The largest collection of works of nature fascinates with its originality. It is impossible to take your eyes off the splendor of landscapes in the Sochi Dicovery World Aquarium Sochi Nature Reserve.
The main expositions
The aquarium in Sochi consists of two main expositions. The first exposition of the aquarium is entirely devoted to fish that are found in fresh water. A freshwater zone opens with a waterfall in an untouched tropical forest, the atmosphere of which can be felt by stepping on a bridge thrown across a pond. Japanese koi carp , a fish of noble origin, beautiful combined color, lives in the backwaters. Carp can be white and orange, white and black or solid golden color with shades. The carp does not get its “title” right away, first the fish must go through six stages of selection, and only then it is given the name “koi”.
In the freshwater aquariums of the Sochi Dicovery World Aquarium, there are about a hundred different species of fish that live in the waters of the United States, Ecuador, Australia and many other countries. Piranhas, discus, gourami, cyclides - you can list endlessly. All these fish are a living exposition of the Sochi Aquarium.
How do exhibits live?
After a freshwater exposure, the possession of the inhabitants of the oceans and seas begins. This room includes thirteen aquariums that connects a 44-meter snake-shaped tunnel with many ornate bends, loops and turns. Aquariums are inhabited by marine fish and animals, arthropods and shells, all of them are happy with their life, they feel great, being under the vigilant supervision of a whole team of aquarists and ichthyological veterinarians. A good mood for fish and fish, seahorses, rays with moray eels and many other swimming and diving animals is supported by experienced specialists who know from the inside all the needs of their wards. Who only visitors who came to the Sochi Dicovery World Aquarium will not see! Here you can find ball fish, unicorn fish, hedgehog and cow fish, catfish, large and small, and even water snakes.
Numerous inhabitants of oceanic aquariums live together, go about their business and only occasionally look at an endless string of visitors to the aquarium, slowly moving behind acrylic glass with a thickness of 17 centimeters. In the aquariums are placed all the attributes of the underwater world, reefs, rocky ridges, sunken ships. Large fish, huge sea bass and moray eel settled in the holds of the wrecked ships. Octopuses spread their tentacles in the same place, and barracudas swiftly pass past the portholes and cuttlefish slowly sail.
Sharks
And then a shark appears. Small fishes rush scatter, those that are larger, cautiously swim to the predator, but not too close, the instinct of self-preservation is stronger than curiosity. A shark defiles accompanied by pilot fish and its personal cleaners. Sharks of several species live in the aquarium, there are not only the most dangerous, aggressive and bloodthirsty: sharks "mako", sand and tiger.
Dolphins and seals live in another aquarium, where their life is out of danger, smart animals entertain visitors, show wonders of synchronized swimming, jump through a hoop, play a ball and swim in races.
Maritime sector
Sea and ocean fish, live exhibits of the Sochi Aquarium:
- Sharks - there are millions of years, evolution is slow. When looking at a swimming shark, one can see how perfect its contours are, the fish has one hundred percent hydrodynamics, and nature created it that way.
- Stingrays - a kind of marine animals, instead of fins they have wings, the span of which reaches 3 meters. The largest slope is manta ray.
- Jellyfish are transparent marine creatures from the plankton family, slow and harmless. Only one subspecies of jellyfish is considered dangerous, this is the so-called "Portuguese boat", which has poisonous stinging tentacles.
- Fish of the coastal zone - small crabs, starfish, sea cucumbers, sea worms and other animals living in the surf.
- Cave fish - lucifuges and troglobionts living in cave reservoirs, in complete darkness and silence.
- Dangerous fish caught in the Red Sea are scorpion and stone fish. Both fish are poisonous, you can not touch them.
- Moray eel is a flexible, mobile fish, lives in crevices of underwater rocks. He never attacks the first, he becomes aggressive only if you anger her.
- Seahorses are small bony fish from the family of needle-shaped, resembling a chess horse in shape.
Freshwater sector
Freshwater fish:
- Fish from the African continent - cyclides and labyrinth fish.
- Discus and scalar are two types of freshwater fish that stick together, although scalars at the same time try their best to show their superiority.
- Gurami - a tropical fish from the labyrinth family, has a peculiar mark of distinction - a long elastic thread hanging from the front of the abdomen. There can be two threads.
- Goldfish is the most famous and popular aquarium fish from the crucian family, which has existed for more than one thousand years.
- The inhabitants of the Amazon are protopters, piranhas and haraks, ancient fish that have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years.
- Catfish and sturgeons caught in large, deep rivers, but well established in the Sochi Dicovery World Aquarium.
Oceanarium in Sochi: how to get there
Visitors come to the oceanarium on weekends and weekdays after they learn about its unique expositions from acquaintances or advertising booklets with photos.
The oceanarium in Sochi, the photo of which can give some idea of its structure, is still fully disclosed only when visiting. You will learn complete and reliable information about how the expositions were assembled, under what conditions numerous live exhibits are contained, from professional tour guides.
The oceanarium in Sochi has the following address: Sochi city, Adler district, 219a / 4 Lenin street, Resort town, Riviera park.
You can get to it by minibus or by bus from the city center to the Adlerkurort stop and go to the Rosneft gas station. Then go over the overpass over Lenin Street, turn left and go forward, you will soon see the aquarium.
Visitors reviews
One of the main attractions of the entire Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory is the aquarium in Sochi. Guest reviews are the pride of all the staff of the unique complex. The arrival of the newlyweds, who chose the Sochi Aquarium for the solemn event as the best place to meet and start a happy family life, is especially pleased with the staff.
Visitors note the excellent service, interesting, informative excursions, the attentive attitude of representatives of the administration and, most importantly, the indelible impressions of visiting such a grandiose structure, like the aquarium in Sochi.