This exhibit was produced by the National Aquarium in Baltimore, comprising nine tanks and a further ten in the lab. It ran successfully for four years during which time, this group of 500 seahorses representing 20 different species found a special place in the affections of the locals. They also set new attendance records.
They might be endearing but they are not easy to keep, so when panther was approached to manage the process of re-mounting the exhibit at Oltremare in Ricionne, Italy, we knew it would be no easy task. Fortunately, the National Aquarium in Baltimore has an extremely skilled staff with a great depth of experience and excellent leadership. Their experience and know-how allowed the Italian team to hit the ground running.
Nonetheless, the logistics of creating a lab with fully operating life support systems and transporting groups of seahorses by air from their old home to their new one was challenging. The biological, chemical and thermal properties of the water must be maintained within very specific limits, consequently, the excellent team of veterinarians, aquarists, biologists and chemists, worked around the clock. There was also the matter of paperwork to deal with and of course, it was all made to appear effortless.
The Seahorses are all settled in now and enchanting another group of people. They are also learning to speak Italian.