The aquarium is actually part of the Albuquerque Botanic Garden which is the northern component of the Albuquerque Bio Park that is more focused on the zoo. With limited time and budget our garden membership got us in here free so we skipped the Zoo until a later visit.
Just for fun and also because I did not find it until I completed the garden page, the sculpture of the kids trying to rescue a cat from the tree is in the entry plaza to both the garden and aquarium. The toddler watching the sting ray in the aquarium is my all time favorite aquarium picture. I have no idea who she is other than extremely cute watching with wonder.
One of the first exhibits inside the aquarium is this sting ray petting pool. The parts shown here are rather deep but on the other side are shallows that allow the rays to pass under your hand.
One of Lori's favorite is the puffer fish. Snorkeling in Hawaii before our youngest's wedding she had one swell up and try to intimidate her. She doesn't do the intimated thing real well so she charged and he ran. I also remember catching one in Tampa Bay as a pre-teen fishing with dad.
At first glance this fish looks like stars and stripes being towed in the water. I've seen lures quite similar to this but not the the fish.
My own favorite is normally the sea horse which come in several varieties. There is a little green one that does not have the long tail and is rather square I'll be showing on another page at a later date. Speaking of lures, this guy has his own. The little long nose he dangles out front so that he who comes to eat gets ett. Finally to wrap things up is a few more pictures of the main aquarium without the little toddler.
