Visiting Sea Center Texas
Artificial Reef Aquarium
Cottonwick
As visitors approach the 5,000 gallon artificial reef aquarium, they will be amazed by the multi-colored sponges, corals, and bryozoans and oysters attached to legs of a miniaturized replica of an offshore oil and gas production platform. Hiding among the legs of the platform are fishes such as rockhinds, shrimp eels, and soapfish. Fish swimming nearby include lookdowns, puffers, pompanos, and jack crevalle.
Texas has been involved in placing artificial reefs since the late 1940’s to provide more fishing opportunities. Objects such as oyster shell, tires, automobiles, construction rubble, clay pipe barges ships and drilling rigs have been employed.
The steel jackets of offshore oil and gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico create dynamic “artificial reef” ecosystems by providing hard substrate and a physical presence. In the mid-1980’s the Rigs to Reef Program was created as an avenue through which obsolete production platforms could be left in the marine environment as artificial reefs. These structures provide attachments sites for invertebrates such as barnacles, oysters, mussels, bryozoans, hydroids, sponges, and corals and provide shelter and food for fish that live around them all year long. Artificial reefs also attract open water species which may be present at the reef for periods of a few hours to a few days.
Coral Reef Aquarium
Seahorse
This 250 gallon exhibit features corals, invertebrates and fish. The favorite among visitors is the seahorses that can be seen with their tails wrapped around the tubes of feather duster worms and clinging to the edges of corals. Observant visitors will notice sea stars, sea cucumbers and tiny hermit crabs living among the leather, cup and star corals.
