Founded way back in 1934, Chester Zoo is one of the largest zoos in the UK. According to an official poll, 2019 saw it welcome more than 2 million visitors, making it the most-visited wildlife attraction in the UK. In the last few years however, the zoo has faced a catalogue of challenges, from a fire that seriously damaged the newly built Monsoon Forest habitat, to the COVID lockdown that threatened the “end of the zoo” and saw it launch a plea for public donations to fill a shortfall in finances. Despite this, there are signs of recovery and new exhibits continue to be launched and planned.
For the purposes of this article, I visited the zoo in mid-July 2022, specifically to investigate the aquarium exhibit which has been an almost permanent fixture of the zoo, originally being built way back in 1952. It’s amazing to think that this facility was built by zoo founder George Mottershead’s daughter June and her husband Fred in their spare time, taking two years to complete. June and Fred even cast the 13 pillars needed to support the building by hand, and these still stand in place today.
Today the aquarium still features two long galleries of aquaria that are traversed by a generally one-way system. On entering the exhibit, the first tank we see is an in-wall display that showcases the coral propagation work undertaken at the facility, then next to this tank is the “star of the show” exhibit (from a reef-keeping perspective that is, indeed it is the marine tanks that we’ll really look at in this review for obvious reasons). Measuring 2.4×1.8m with a height of 75cm, this live coral reef display boasts a total volume of 3600 litres (the sump measures 1.9x1x0.5m)). The tank is viewed through rectangular “porthole” like apertures which really give the impression of peering into an underwater world (although this, plus the space around the tank, unfortunately mean it can’t be viewed in its entirety). The tank features an impressive, naturalistic aquascape with a full span rocky back wall festooned with purple Acropora and Montipora while in the foreground there are coral bommies topped with large colonies of various SPS and LPS species such as Fimbriaphyllia and Turbinaria. There are also lots of colourful and active fish; yellow and convict tangs, a huge foxface, plus various active Anthias sp., wrasse and of course crowd-pleasing “Nemo” A. ocellaris clowns (I was somewhat surprised not to see a “Dory” regal tang in here though as I’m sure a large one would do well in this tank, and the kids would love it!). It’s a stunning, colourful display and the two portholes on the front side of the tank provide two distinct views which, during busy periods, allows visitors to take orderly turns as they move around the exhibit. Moving around to the left side of the tank, a single window allows a full “long” view from this second side, as one enters the first gallery of the exhibit. In this first aisle, numerous tanks stretch off into the darkness and on closer inspection these feature a majority of freshwater tanks and paludaria containing all kinds of species, some critically endangered. It’s reminiscent of a museum or art gallery, with the tanks casting a soft, mysterious glow that draws visitors onwards “moth-like” to their next glimpse into a wonderous aquatic biotope.
As I move around the exhibit, the next marine systems of note are in the final, second aisle. Here there is a system that contains dozens of Bangaii cardinals that shoal amongst pulsating stands of Xenia, plus some of the biggest Discosoma mushrooms I’ve seen, and bubble-tip anemones complete with more “Nemo’s”. Next is a Sinularia dominated tank with a large tomato clownfish, tomini tang and yellow clown goby.
While the throngs of children and extended families are perhaps unlikely to note, there’s a definite “old school” feel to these displays and, let’s be honest, a typical reef hobbyist may view them as something of a curio given today’s prevalence of high-tech, eye-popping, neon-hued reefs. I can see that point, but I’d also say that, in that way, these tanks have become something unique in themselves. I can’t remember the last time I saw Xenia in a reef tank and it’s actually a nice, interesting effect that I’d forgotten. Furthermore, what hobbyist donates an entire tank to large stands of Sinularia? Surely, there isn’t anywhere else you are going to see a biotope tank of this kind and it is impressive in its own way.
After my tour of the exhibit from a visitor’s point of view, I was lucky enough to spend an hour with Jo Chattell (Assistant Team Manager of the Aquarium), for a look behind the scenes. After a quick look at the numerous banks of freshwater aquaria which feature breeding and fry tanks for rare species such as the critically endangered Madagascan pinstripe damba, Joe shows me the infrastructure behind the main marine displays. To access the rear of these tanks, raised walkways have been constructed so that the tanks can be accessed easily from above. The main reef exhibit is at the far end of one of these walkways and Joe showed me the equipment running this large SPS dominated system, which comprises of a large Deltec skimmer, a bank of UVs, GHL dosers, Abyzz pumps running a closed loop system, and multiple Evergrow LED light pendants. It was interesting to learn that the marine systems in this facility are not given water changes but are instead replenished through a dosing regimen backed by regular ICP testing. Given this, it was perhaps unsurprising to see the chemical store literally groaning under the weight of all kinds of supplements. While I could go into detail about the specifics of each system, I think it’s more interesting to consider the challenges that the team face operating not just within this 50+ year old building, but also the team here can’t just “throw in” a wrasse to deal with a rapidly spreading flatworm outbreak. Instead, the acquisition of this new stock must go through the same lengthy process as any other animal at the zoo. I can understand why it might be frustrating and working in such an old building, as this limits the storage space and Wi-Fi connection. Joe mentions that time is also an issue, largely due to the fact that working hours are fairly rigid. As well as limiting time to complete projects, this means that the tanks can’t be viewed at night say to spot nocturnal pests. Finally, in terms of sourcing equipment there are limits compared to the variety that hobbyists may be able to purchase at home. It is admirable that they prefer to re-purpose and repair where possible to save money, and aim towards zero waste. That said, I have to wonder if there’s scope for progressive and ethical companies from the reef-keeping sector to perhaps sponsor the exhibit, but I appreciate there are likely to be barriers against even this. At the end of the day, the fact that the displays look so good despite all these challenges makes them even more amazing and I doth my cap to the team for their perseverance!
Of course, all of this begs the question of whether the facility may see an upgrade in future. On this, Joe is hopeful but there isn’t anything set-in-stone at the moment. Thinking on this over the days after my visit, I have mixed views as on the one hand I can see how difficult it must be to deliver expectations working under the constraints discussed. One could argue that (if funds were available) knocking it down and building a brand-new facility would be the obvious answer, but in retrospect, I think that would risk losing the history of the building which really enriches the experience in my view. Also, let’s face it, the average visitor isn’t going to notice say diatoms on the sand, or consider the 2/3rds rule of aquascaping when they are viewing a tank, so in that case, maybe it just doesn’t need changing. After all, it’s also just one exhibit that enriches a visit to the zoo more widely. Attention spans today are short (in adults, let alone children) and one could argue that the current facility provides the “hit” needed, with visitors in, out, and happily onto the next habitat in 20 – 30 minutes. The facility certainly doesn’t aim to better the nearby Blue Planet Aquarium, although I have to say, I don’t recall the Blue Planet having a decent coral tank last time I visited.
To conclude, I’d just add that after my visit I was lucky enough to be allowed to wander around the zoo for the rest of the late afternoon. I have to say I personally couldn’t spot any of the lions, jaguars, sunda garials, spectacled bears, okapi, tamarins, lemurs etc, all of which commanded quite large areas and evidently expensive, beautifully designed habitats (although this may have been due to the late time of my visit as many of the animals may have taken themselves to their private area for the evening). I’m not especially bothered by this personally but I think it’s here that the zoo might be “missing a trick” with the aquarium. Notwithstanding the fact that coral reefs are so critical threatened (and on this point alone the exhibit deserves far more prominence in my view), the aquarium is one exhibit that really delivers on expectations for visitors as the subjects here are never likely to be hiding! For this reason, I hope some changes are made to at least make life a bit easier for the team running the exhibit.
I’d definitely recommend visiting the aquarium if you are at the zoo. Don’t forget that Chester Zoo is a charity and every visit supports their mission to prevent extinction.
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