Two caimans will soon be moving into the revamped aquarium, joining other tenants such as sharks and stingrays
Aquarium Pula is located in a 19th-century fortress Verudela, dating back to the era of Austro-Hungarian rule. The fort used to be topped with a giant dome which was removed in 1943, along with all elements of canon artillery; the steel construction was taken to Italy, melted and repurposed into weaponry.
The City of Pula launched a reconstruction project of the fortress some time ago, aiming to get the historical site back to its original state. The dome was thus re-erected in October 2017, following some new features recently introduced in the aquarium spaces. A hexagonal pool with 30.000 litres of volume was installed on the second floor, right under the dome; another two pools have been introduced on the first floor, both having a volume of 50.000 litres.
“All in all, the total volume of water in the aquarium was doubled – those three pools alone have around 130 cubic metres of volume, exactly the same capacity as the rest of the spaces combined”, said biologist Žarko Jaković.
Piranhas / Aquarium Pula
According to the expert, the lower aquarium will house endangered cartilaginous species such as stingrays, while the one on the first floor will provide a new home to tropical sharks who have been waiting for a bigger pool for a while, having outgrown their former dwellings. Blacktip reef sharks will be sharing their habitat with large seabream and amberjack specimen.
The uppermost pool will house a tropical freshwater aquarium, namely three caimans; while one already resides at the aquarium in Pula, two have yet to arrive to their new home. Along with the crocs, the freshwater habitat will house other tropical fish such as pacu, a close relative of the more (in)famous piranha.
Learn more about Aquarium Pula and its residents here.
Source: Glas Istre
