The Oceanarium in Sochi is a unique world-class facility built in the Resort Town of the Adler District, on the territory of the Riviera Park and opened on December 26, 2009.
The author of the project is the ATEX SEZ International company from the United Arab Emirates, which specializes in the construction of entertainment complexes, exhibition centers, water parks and oceanariums. Since the aquarium in Sochi is a megaproject, specialists from other countries, one way or another connected with water attractions, took part in it. Engineers from Australia, China and New Zealand were invited to participate in the creation of the project.
Oceanarium in Sochi. "Riviera" - the park where the complex is located
Sochi Riviera Park has become the location of a unique exhibition complex with thousands of live exhibits. The largest oceanarium in Sochi, called Sochi Discovery World Aquarium, is located on an area of 6 thousand square meters and consists of30 aquariums, each of which is designed for a specific type of marine fauna. Aquariums contain more than five million liters of water: sea - for the inhabitants of the ocean depths, and fresh - for representatives of the river and lake fauna. Below is a tunnel that creates the feeling of being in the water space.
The Sochi Oceanarium, the photo of which is presented in the article, is a unique aquarium complex, the only one in Russia with thousands of living exhibits, capable of competing with world-class aquariums. During its construction, the latest technologies for docking modules were used, which had to withstand the multi-ton pressure of millions of cubic meters of water, and the calculated strength characteristics were several times higher than the required potential of the structure. The margin of safety was maintained at a level hundreds of times higher than the optimum. The transparent acrylic walls were meant to withstand an earthquake, a tsunami, and a hurricane.
Complex structures
Each visitor to the Sochi Oceanarium can feel like the lord of the sea depths - Poseidon, and at the same time he will only miss the trident. Otherwise, everything, as in the underwater kingdom, is surrounded by algae, corals, grottoes and caves. Thousands of small and large fish gather in flocks and swim over the heads of tourists. And crabs and starfish slowly move along the bottom. When a huge shark appears, everyone freezes, a marine predator causes stupor even at a distant distance, and then the shark swims up to a distance of elongatedhands.
It is much calmer in the sector of freshwater lakes and streams with spanned bridges, dense forest and waterfalls cascading from bas alt rocks. The largest collection of works of nature fascinates with its originality. It is impossible to take your eyes off the splendor of landscapes in Sochi's natural reserve Sochi Discovery World Aquarium.
Main exhibitions
The Oceanarium in Sochi consists of two main expositions. The first exposition of the aquarium is entirely devoted to fish that live in fresh water. The freshwater zone is opened by a waterfall in an untouched tropical forest, the atmosphere of which can be felt by stepping on a bridge thrown over a reservoir. The backwaters are inhabited by Japanese carp "koi", a fish of noble origin, with a beautiful combination of colors. Carp can be white and orange, white and black, or solid gold with tints. The carp does not receive its " title" immediately, first the fish must go through six stages of selection, and only then it is given the name "koi".
In freshwater aquariums Sochi Dicovery World Aquarium, there are about a hundred different species of fish that live in the waters of the United States, Ecuador, Australia and many other countries. Piranhas, discus, gourami, cyclids - the list is endless. All these fish are a live exposition of the Sochi Aquarium.
How are the exhibits doing?
After the freshwater exposure, the possessions of the inhabitants of the oceans and seas begin. This room contains thirteenaquariums, which are connected by a 44-meter serpentine tunnel, with many ornate twists, loops and turns. Aquariums are inhabited by marine fish and animals, arthropods and shellfish, they are all happy with their lives, they feel great, being under the vigilant supervision of a whole team of aquarists and ichthyologists. The good mood of fish and fish, seahorses, stingrays with moray eels and many other swimming and diving animals is supported by experienced specialists who know from the inside all the needs of their wards. Whom the visitors who come to Sochi Discovery World Aquarium will not see! Here you can find ball fish, unicorn fish, hedgehog fish and cow fish swim nearby, catfish, large and small, and even water snakes.
Many inhabitants of ocean aquariums live together, go about their business and only occasionally look at the endless line of aquarium visitors slowly moving behind 17 cm thick acrylic glass. The aquariums contain all the attributes of the underwater world, reefs, rocky ridges, sunken ships. Large fish, huge sea bass and moray eels settled in the holds of the wrecked ships. Octopuses spread their tentacles there, and barracudas rush past the portholes and cuttlefish swim slowly.
Sharks
And here comes the shark. Small fish rush in all directions, those that are larger, carefully swim up to the predator, but not too close, the instinct of self-preservation is stronger than curiosity. Shark defile accompanied bypilot fish, her personal cleaners. Several species of sharks live in the aquarium, only the most dangerous, aggressive and bloodthirsty sharks are missing: mako, sand and tiger sharks.
Dolphins and seals live in another aquarium, where their life is out of danger, smart animals entertain visitors, show the wonders of synchronized swimming, jump through a hoop, play ball and swim in a race.
Marine sector
Sea and ocean fish, living exhibits of the Sochi Aquarium:
- Sharks - exist for millions of years, slow evolution. When you look at a swimming shark, you can see how perfect its contours are, the fish has one hundred percent hydrodynamics, which is how nature created it.
- Stingrays are peculiar marine animals, instead of fins they have wings, the span of which reaches 3 meters. The largest stingray is the manta.
- Jellyfish are transparent sea creatures from the planktonic family, slow and harmless. Only one subspecies of jellyfish is considered dangerous, the so-called "Portuguese man-of-war", which has poisonous stinging tentacles.
- Coastal fish - small crabs, starfish, sea cucumbers, sea worms and other animals living in the surf.
- Cave fish - lucifuges and troglobionts living in cave reservoirs, in complete darkness and silence.
- Dangerous fish caught in the Red Sea are scorpionfish and stonefish. Both fish are poisonous and should not be touched.
- Moray eel is a flexible, mobile fish that lives in the crevices of underwater rocks. Never attacks first, becomesaggressive only when angered.
- Seahorses are small bony fish, from the needle-shaped family, shaped like a chess horse.
Freshwater sector
Freshwater fish:
- Fish from the African continent - cyclids and labyrinth fish.
- Discus and angelfish are two types of freshwater fish that stick together, although angelfish do their best to show their superiority.
- Gourami - a tropical fish from the labyrinth family, has a peculiar insignia - a long elastic thread hanging from the front of the abdomen. There can be two threads.
- Goldfish is the most famous and popular aquarium fish from the crucian family, which has existed for thousands of years.
- Inhabitants of the Amazon - protopters, piranhas and haraki, ancient fish that have evolved hundreds of thousands of years.
- Catfish and sturgeon caught in large full-flowing rivers, but well established in the Sochi Dicovery World Aquarium.
Oceanarium in Sochi: how to get there
Visitors come to the aquarium on weekends and weekdays after learning about its unique displays from acquaintances or advertising booklets with photographs.
The Oceanarium in Sochi, the photos of which can give some idea of its structure, will still be fully revealed only when visiting. Complete and reliable information on how the expositions were collected, in what conditions numerouslive exhibits, you will learn from professional guides.
The Oceanarium in Sochi has the following address: Sochi city, Adler district, Lenin street, 219a/4, Resort town, Riviera park.
You can get to it by taxi or by bus from the city center to the Adlerkurort stop and go to the Rosneft gas station. Then go over the elevated passage through Lenina Street, turn left and go forward, soon you will see the oceanarium.
Visitor reviews
One of the main attractions of the entire Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory is the aquarium in Sochi. Feedback from visitors is a matter of pride for all the staff of the unique complex. The employees are especially pleased with the arrival of the newlyweds, who have chosen the Sochi Aquarium for the solemn event as the best place to meet and start a happy family life.
Visitors note the excellent service, interesting, informative excursions, the attentive attitude of the administration and, most importantly, the indelible impressions of visiting such a grandiose structure as the aquarium in Sochi.
