Lagoon
Get Tropical
A swirl of vibrant, Day-Glo color. Swishing tails, fluttering fins. Leopard prints, neon yellow stripes, hot orange lips. It’s a balmy, tropical world in the Lagoon, with fish and and an eel swimming in a sandy, Indo-Pacific reef.
Swim into the Lagoon
NOTE: No strollers, food or drink, please.
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Wrasse
Time to clean up.
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Wrasse come in many shapes, colors and sizes, from 3 inches to 8 feet.
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Some maintain cleaning stations for other fish, removing parasites and dead tissue.
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Tang tails
Slashing, slicing
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Tangs are oval shaped fish with a sharp spine at the base of their tails.
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It can slash intruders or be as exact as a surgeon's scalpel.
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Angelfish
It's all about looks.
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Angelfish have bright color patterns they use to identify threats to their territory.
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Young fish look different from adults so they can swim nearby without being chased.
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A Plastic Ocean?
THE THREAT: By 2050, scientists predict that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. Plastic trash builds up on land and, despite our best efforts, eventually blows or washes out to sea, where it chokes and starves marine animals.
HOW TO HELP: Reduce your use of plastic. Choose reusable items like lunch wrappings and water bottles; say no to straws and extra packaging. Help protect our ocean.
Aquarium Stories
Just when you thought it was safe to go into the zoo, we bring you – Halloween in the Aquarium! Arms covered with suckers. Backs covered with eyes. Lumpsuckers, tentacles, vacuum mouths and just plain scary faces. (Plus a white crab nicknamed “Casper.”) If you’re looking for weird, cool or slightly icky, our Pacific Seas … Continued
UPDATE: Now over. Thanks for visiting! Q: Where in the world would you find an elephant, a sea turtle and an axolotl all together? A: In Species in the Sand, the new sand sculpture this summer at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium! Beginning mid-May, our sculpting team led by Tacoma native Sue McGrew will return … Continued
It’s magical enough to stand inside the Pacific Seas Aquarium and gaze at shimmering scales, cruising sea turtles or impossibly long wolf eels. But with x-ray vision, a whole new underwater world reveals itself. Thanks to our veterinary team, who regularly take radiographs of our Pacific Seas Aquarium animals to check on their health and … Continued