MOSCOW, November 28. /TASS/. The Moskvarium Center for Oceanography and Marine Biology will present about 20 species of freshwater fish to the Sevastopol Marine Aquarium, where about 700-800 animals died after one of the halls was flooded in a recent storm, Irina Meintzer, head of the Center's biological service, told TASS.
They will be brought to Sevastopol within a month.
Earlier it was reported that the hall of the Sevastopol Marine Aquarium was flooded by sea water due to the storm, and over 500 marine animals died. According to aquarium director Yury Kravtsov, 700-800 tropical freshwater animals lived in the flooded hall of the aquarium, which was located on the sea side.
"We have agreed with the aquarium museum in Sevastopol that we will help them replenish their collection of fish that perished during the storm. These are freshwater fish, inhabitants of Southeast Asia, Amazonia, Africa. We offered only about 20 species - about 300 fish," said Meinzer.
Moskvarium vows to solve any issues regarding the logistics of delivering the fish. "Since the roads were also affected by the storm, on the timing exactly, unfortunately, we cannot yet orientate. But within a month we plan that our fish will arrive in Sevastopol," she added.
The Center of Oceanography and Marine Biology Moskvarium is the largest aquarium in Europe, remote from the sea coast. The aquarium houses more than 12,000 marine and freshwater animals from all corners of the planet. Among its rarest animals, in particular, are the Amazonian arapaima and Hawksbill sea turtle. Guests can visit open training sessions of Baikal seals, Asian otters and capybaras, watch sharks, rays and piranhas feeding.
Emergency at the Sevastopol Aquarium Museum
During a storm on Monday night, cold sea water rushed through the ventilation equipment located on the roof of the third hall of the aquarium. Most of the hall's inhabitants - tropical freshwater animals - died almost immediately from the thermal shock. "Approximately 700-800 animals died, including tambaqui, notopteridae (knifefish), piranhas, polypterus (dragonfish), shell pikes, calamoichthys calabaricus (snakefish), catfish from the Orinoco River, Malawi cichlids, motoro rays, dorado and other freshwater fish. Some of them died, some are still alive, and we are doing our best to make sure they survive," the aquarium reported on the social network VKontakte.
The water has been completely pumped out and cleaned. The museum will operate as usual, except for the third hall, which will be opened some time after April 2024, following restoration work.
The Sevastopol Marine Aquarium Museum is one of the oldest public aquariums in Europe and is the very first marine aquarium of the Russian Empire. It was founded in 1897 at the Sevastopol Biological Station.