On Monday 17th May, we will be re-opening our doors to welcome visitors and members once again!
Following a turmoil start to 2021 with extended closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, we will be re-opening with lots of changes and new additions to our collection!
General Manager, Fenia Vitali explained: “the team are so excited to re-open and welcome visitors and members back to Bristol Aquarium. They have been working so hard behind the scenes that it’ll be a very proud moment to see people enjoying the attraction once again!”
Visitors and members to Bristol Aquarium can expect to see the following changes:
• Lots of new native animals have been added such as Moon Jellyfish and a Lobster
• A brand new display of Garden Eels have been added to the Coral Seas area
• Three Cownose Rays have been added to the large, tropical display
Sadly however, during closure the difficult decision was taken by the vet and the Aquarium’s expert Zoological team to put Gloria, the Giant Pacific Octopus to sleep. Gloria had reached the final stage of her natural life cycle; laying eggs and spending her time tending to those eggs, forsaking herself in the process.
Mark Iwachiw, Zoological Manager commented: “The closure has seen our team here at the Aquarium go through lots of ups and downs. The extremely saddening euthanasia of Gloria was the hardest, she has been missed so much by us all since her passing.
“But we have also experienced some really exciting things like re-theming tanks, getting some new species such as the Garden Eels added to our collection and seeing new baby seahorses being born!
“Keeping all the pumps in good working order and maintaining good quality water in all our displays, as usual, has kept us occupied but with all the little extra things we’ve completed we just can’t wait for visitors and members to admire our work!” Mark added.
Bristol Aquarium is open daily 10am-5pm (last entry 4pm) and has full Covid-19 safety measures in place.
Tickets can be purchased online HERE and are valid any one date within 6months from purchase. If you have online tickets purchased during our closure, the ticket validity for these have been extended to one year so you will still be able to use them for your visit.
Any annual members are welcomed to get in touch with our friendly team to discuss your membership on bristoladmin@bristolaquarium.co.uk or simply speak to our team on your first visit back to the aquarium – we can’t wait to welcome you back on an underwater adventure!!