My knee ... and Plymouth Aquarium!

As you may or may not know, I fractured my knee a few weeks ago, so have been rather hampered between being on crutches & painkillers, and consequently remiss with catching up on my blog. Hopefully after x-rays and physio it is starting to mend - I am certainly looking forward to being able to get out and about with my camera again ...

The Aquarium in Plymouth was the first in the UK to be set up for research, conservation and education. It has 50 live exhibits which include three huge tanks, the largest of which is Britains deepest tank, and holds 2.5 million litres of water. The exhibits are set in realistic settings, from local shorelines to coral reefs, ranging from huge sharks to tiny seahorses!

They even have a single Loggerhead turtle called Snorkle, who has been with them since 1990 (she was washed ashore on a beach in Cornwall). Looks a bit lonely to me ...

The Aquarium also has several octopuses, ranging in size from very tiny to huge. They tend to be shy creatures, so it is hard to capture a photograph, but with some persistance, I did manage! They have 3 x hearts, two of which pump blood through the gills, the other one through the body - their blood is light blue. Octupuses (not octupi!) also have the ability to change colour, for camouflage purposes, they have soft bodies, except for the "beak" part. Using jet propulsion, they travel for many kilometers, and are highly intelligent (but haven't yet taken the Mensa test!).

I was also lucky and managed to photograph a pregnant sea horse (not sure if he would have agreed though!) Yes, "he" for as we all know, it is the male who carries the eggs in his pouch. Apparently seahorses do not have a stomach or teeth, consequently their digestive system is so quick that that have to eat constantly to live. Did you know that when mating they make musical sounds, and it is always under the full moon? At Plymouth they have successfully bred 8 x species of seahorses.

There are also several types of jellyfish drifting around gently in round tanks to protect their bodies which are very delicate. They do not have heart or brains, but can survive very well. There are various types of jellyfish at the Aquarium, ranging from the Moon jellyfish, Crystal jellyfish and upside-down jellyfish, to name but a few. They are beautiful when they are moving around and catching the light, and fascinating to watch as well, as this short video below shows.