The Waikiki Aquarium is one of the premier
marine science institutions in the City & County of Honolulu and the
State of Hawaii. Founded on March 19, 1904, this marine aquarium is the
third oldest public aquarium in the United States. Since 1919, the Waikiki
Aquarium has been an institution of the University of Hawaii System.
The Waikiki Aquarium is the third oldest aquarium in the U.S. The aquarium is part of the University of Hawaii and is located on the shores of Waikiki. Exhibits, programs, and research focus on the aquatic life of the tropical Pacific.
Situated beside a living coral reef on the Waikiki shoreline, the Waikiki Aquarium is home to more than 3,055 organisms of 464 species of marine plants and animals. Each year, over 350,000 people visit. The Waikiki Aquarium was designated a Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center of the Coastal America Partnership federal program.
The Waikiki Aquarium is especially noted for its coral reef exhibit which allows visitors to get a close-up look at reef sharks, living coral, sea jellies, reef fish, and more.
The Waikiki Aquarium developed displays of living corals starting in the middle to late 1970s. These aquarium structures were reliant on a permanent provision of seawater and therefore the aquarium seawater situation was not so different from the ones on the reef.
Living corals are more complex to sustain in aquariums than most marine fish. Aquarists must be more aware of the physical, chemical and natural necessities of corals if they hope to accomplish success. Lighting, water chemistry, water motion, and temperature are the main features of concern to aquarists preserving living corals.
