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It's a challenge to display live midwater animals; most are simply too fragile to collect. Eelpouts are an exception. These midwater fish are tougher than most and can survive being caught in a net. And they don't have gas-filled spaces in their bodies, so there's nothing to expand and injure them during their journey up from the deep.
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 For our aquarists, the hardest part about displaying eelpouts was creating an exhibit that would give visitors the illusion of viewing these animals in their natural habitat: a vast, dimly lit world with no visible surfaces or boundaries.
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We knew that a rectangular aquarium tank would never do, since we wouldn't be able to conceal the corners; worse yet, the eelpouts would bump into the sides of the tank. We finally settled on a round tank that we'd successfully used to display our jellies. The tank's circular shape and water currents prevent the eelpouts from swimming into the sides, while its narrow profile (only a foot from front to back) keeps the fish in view at all times. A dark backdrop, combined with special lighting overhead, creates a sense of depth and makes the tank seem endless.
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www.montereybayaquarium.org
886 Cannery Row | Monterey, California 93940
Regular Hours 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Daily, Closed Dec. 25
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