Aquatic Life & Exotics

08/27/2025

Hey everyone. It's that time again for nominating for Murray Favorites. Nominations will run in Aug 28th paper, Sept 2nd and Sept 4th. Voting starts on Sept 9th! You can purchase past Tues & Thurs papers from Murray Ledger & Times to nominate or we will have some available at the store. Help us again this year to become your Favorite aquatic store.

08/27/2025

Open today 12-6. 🐠🐟🐢🐸🦎🐍

08/26/2025

Open today 12-6. Come check out all the cool 🐠🪸🐍🦎🐸🐢🐁

08/22/2025

With fins like a crown and stripes like fire, the Lionfish drifts as if born only for beauty.
But each spine is a needle of venom, capable of piercing skin and flooding it with pain.

Native to the Indo-Pacific, Pterois volitans has escaped into foreign seas. In the Caribbean and Atlantic it spreads unchecked, devouring reef fish, outcompeting locals, leaving ecosystems gasping in silence.
One lionfish can reduce reef biodiversity by nearly 80%. And yet, it hovers with grace, its wings flowing like silk in the water.

It is an invader dressed as royalty — a masterpiece of nature that poisons the seas it conquers.

Learn more:

NOAA – Invasive Lionfish Threat

National Geographic – The Deadly Beauty of Lionfish

Marine Ecology Progress Series – Lionfish Impacts on Reef Systems

08/22/2025

🔥 This is an ALBINO BABY TAPIR - In Case You've Never Seen It Before! 😍

This extraordinary baby tapir stands out with its snowy-white coat caused by albinism, a condition so rare that only a handful have ever been seen.

Native to South America’s forests and grasslands, lowland tapirs are usually dark with striped calves, making this albino calf truly unique.

✨ Fun Fact: Tapirs are ancient relatives of horses and rhinos, unchanged for millions of years!

📷: Unknown

08/22/2025

08/22/2025

4 rare tiger cubs abandoned by their parents are breastfed by a DOG 🥰

The newborns include 2 rare golden tabby tigers, 1 white tiger and one snow-white tiger.
However, the mothers did not wish to take care of their offspring.

The tiger cubs are being taken care of by a mother dog, which also gave birth at a similar time.
Surprisingly, the mother dog took the tiger cubs and shared the motherly love...❤️

08/22/2025

Happy Friday! Visit us for a weekend of fun!

We are open
Monday thru Thursday 10am-6pm
Friday & Saturday 10am-8pm
Sunday 10am-7pm

https://austinaquarium.com/atickets/weekend-tickets/

08/22/2025

🔥This is the PEACOCK MANTIS SHRIMP – The Strongest Punch in the Sea! 😱

Famous for its dazzling rainbow colors, the peacock mantis shrimp is also one of the ocean’s toughest hunters.

Found in tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, it uses its powerful “punch” to smash through shells with the force of a bullet.

✨ Fun Fact: Their eyes are among the most advanced in the animal kingdom, able to see polarized light and 12 different color channels, far beyond human vision!

📷: Unknown

08/22/2025

Not all Jays are blue—meet the Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas). It’s native to parts of Central and South America, with a small population in southern Texas. In the tropics, this bird can be found in humid forests, where its green and yellow plumage camouflage it in the tree canopy. It forages for seeds, fruits, and arthropods.

Photo: Bridget Spencer, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

08/22/2025

Yasha Gobies and Pistol Shrimp are known to form a symbiotic relationship where the Shrimp provides a home for the Goby and the Goby keeps watch.
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**er **ers

08/22/2025

The monjon (Petrogale burbidgei) is the smallest species of rock-wallaby, belonging to the family Macropodidae, and is endemic to the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Adult monjons stand only about 30–35 cm tall, with a body weight of around 1–1.5 kg, making them the tiniest members of their group. They have soft brown-gray fur, a paler underbelly, and a long, bushy tail used for balance among rocky outcrops. Adapted to rugged sandstone habitats, they are shy and elusive, often retreating into crevices when disturbed. Monjons are herbivorous, feeding on grasses, leaves, and other vegetation. They are mostly nocturnal, emerging at dusk to forage. Due to their restricted range and specific habitat needs, they are vulnerable to threats such as altered fire regimes, predation by feral cats, and habitat disturbance, though populations remain stable in protected areas.