Recent News

Students shine in Reef Watch art contest
Thursday, June 25, 2015

Two Warwick Academy students are the proud winners of prizes in the recent Reef Watch Art Competition.


Ocean guardians promote Reef Watch
Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Bermuda’s ocean guardians were at the Johnny Barnes roundabout to promote Saturday’s citizen science initiative Reef Watch.


Trunk Island to become outdoor classroom
Wednesday, June 17, 2015

It is one of the most pristine and untouched habitats left in Bermuda.


Aon staff show their community spirit
Friday, June 12, 2015

Aon staff have taken part in an international Global Service Day, assisting several local charities and community projects.r.


Open-air classroom for Florida students
Thursday, June 11, 2015

Bermuda has provided an open-air classroom for students from Flagler College in Florida, who just got their second round of hands-on research experience.



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Latest News

All the latest updates and news from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, one of Bermuda's leading visitor attractions!

Parrotfish Checkup
Bermuda Zoological Society
Wednesday, May 02, 2018

Excerpt from WILD News April 2018

When new fish arrive at BAMZ, they must first undergo a minimum of 30 days quarantine in order to diagnose any marine parasites which, if left untreated, can infect the other inhabitants of the aquarium hall tanks.

On Thursday, 22nd March, Patrick Talbot, Curator of the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, with the assistance of Marine Collector, Jorge Sanchez, conducted the examination of the quarantined blue parrotfish, queen parrotfish, and rainbow parrotfish before their transfer into the display tanks.


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Blue parrotfish going under anesthetic
 

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Blue parrotfish being removed from anesthetic

Before each fish was examined, they were first anesthetized in a solution rendering them unconscious and insensible to any pain. The length of time it took for each fish to go to sleep, was also the approximate amount of time it would remain sedated, giving Mr. Talbot an idea of how much time he had to take samples from the fish.


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Blue parrotfish having its gills clipped
 

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Queen parrotfish going under anesthetic

Each fish went through the same procedure; after sedation, they were removed from the water and placed on a cushion wrapped in plastic. Mr. Talbot quickly took a scale scrape, and a gill clipping - basically taking a sample of the skin mucous covering the scales and a tiny gill biopsy. The fish was then placed in a tub of fresh water, and Mr. Sanchez bubbled oxygen in the water surrounding the gills. The fresh water acted as final medication of sorts, as it would kill most external parasites (should there be any) and the bubbled gas helped ensure the fish had oxygen during its recovery from the anesthetic. After a few minutes, the animal was responsive and returned to a separate tank to await results of the procedure.

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Rainbow parrotfish being measured
 

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Mr. Sanchez running oxygen over the Rainbow parrotfish gills to aid in its recovery from the anesthetic
 

Once all the fish were sampled, Mr. Talbot took the scale scrapings and the gill clippings into the laboratory to be examined under a microscope for parasites infections, such as protozoa. If a parasite was found on either sample, the fish would have to go through another two weeks of quarantine and further treatment.

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Gill clippings on a slide ready to be examined under a microscope
 

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Gill clippings being examined
 

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400x magnification of gill clippings
 

Thankfully, upon completion of the examination, all three fish were parasite free and received a clean bill of health. The queen and blue parrotfish were placed in the parrotfish habitat in the Aquarium Hall, and the rainbow parrotfish was placed in the North Rock habitat.

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Rainbow parrotfish in the North Rock habitat
 

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Queen parrotfish in the parrotfish habitat