Japan’s crustacean aquarium comes out of its shell with new exhibit

An aquarium in Susami, Wakayama Prefecture, has created a buzz by unveiling what it calls “picture book tanks”.

The Susami Crustacean Aquarium has set up a unique exhibit consisting of 132 miniature tanks, each of which houses one species of small crustacean. Its aim is to provide visitors with an opportunity to learn about the diversity of life by showing off mostly the species that live in the area.

Even before this initiative was launched, the aquarium had exhibited about 1000 crustaceans of about 150 species, said to be more than any other aquarium in Japan. It came up with a plan to show off more species of small crustaceans that do not usually garner much attention. To obtain new tanks, the aquarium launched a crowdfunding campaign from March to May and raised about $4.2 million yen ($42,500) from about 260 supporters across the nation.

Using the funds, the aquarium prepared 132 small tanks, each measuring 20cm in length and width and 28cm in depth. Each of these “picture book tanks” contains one species of animal, mainly crustaceans that the staff collected in the Kinan area.

The sand and other materials in the tanks have been made to resemble the habitats of the various species. Acrylic panels have been used to divide the space inside the tanks in order to make it easier for visitors to see the animals.

Most of the species displayed in this exhibit are not kept in other aquariums. They include a crab of the Varunidae family, which was collected in the town. Crabs of this species are difficult to find as their carapace is less than 1cm long and looks like gravel.

Clear cleaner-looking shrimp, whose bodies are transparent, are not well-known generally, despite the fact that they can be caught in the sea in the Kinan area.

With the addition of the newly-installed picture book tanks, the number of crustacean species on display at the aquarium now exceeds 200.

“I had always wanted to set up picture book tanks like this, and now they’ve become a reality. So now there’s more I want to do,” Atsushi Hirai, 41, head of the aquarium, says with a smile.

There are said to be 15,000 species of shrimp, crabs and hermit crabs in the world. “It will take a lot of time and effort, but I want to continue coming up with ways to showcase as many species as possible,” Hirai says.

+ The Washington Post