The St. Augustine Aquarium has recently introduced a new juvenile Cownose ray into the main habitat that houses many of their tropical fish. The aquarists and staff at the St. Augustine Aquarium have been tirelessly ensuring that the new ray, acclimated, thriving, and that he is target trained with food. With one of our main missions being education, this juvenile ray is the perfect opportunity to expand the aquarium and the public knowledge. The Cownose ray recently dubbed “Sunny” has been introduced to the Florida Reef habitat here at the St. Augustine Aquarium. There are a multitude of ways that guests will be able to interact with Sunny such as tours that allow guests to view his habitat, snorkeling in his habitat, and even feeding him. These are enrichment interactions are not only for guests, but also for Sunny. Interaction has been a large part of helping Sunny to acclimate to his new habitat and he loves when snorkelers are near his target platform. Sunny also makes a great representative of species that are located on our coast in Florida, helping people to learn how to properly help conserve and see them thrive in their natural habitat. Our lead aquarist Sydney states, “Sunny joined us at the end of April, and went through health exams and training process before moving into our 80,000-gallon Florida Reef on July 4th. Measuring in at a whopping 15 inches in wingspan, what this little guy lacks in size he more than makes up for in personality. On any given visit to the aquarium, you’ll spot Sunny splashing at the windows and snacking on shrimp from his bright pink target. He loves to come up and say hello to guests taking part in our snorkel adventures! If you’re in St. Augustine and looking for something to do, stop by and meet, feed, or snorkel with and all our other amazing fish!” We are so excited to welcome Sunny and all the education and joy he will bring to the aquarium.

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About the St. Augustine Aquarium

St. Augustine Aquarium was opened in 2016 by husband and-wife Kathy and Shawn Hiester. After consulting with many aquariums across the country they created a unique aquarium centered around conservation through education. The aquarium utilizes guided tours by experts to help educate the public about marine life. The aquarium also offers one-of-a-kind experiences in St. Augustine with feed and touch experiences with sharks and snorkels in the Florida Reef habitat. All of this with the hope that guests will leave feeling like they can play a role in conservation in the future.

 

Media Contact:

Kathy Hiester

Email: info@saaquarium.com

Address: 2045 FL-16, St. Augustine, FL 32084

Phone: (904) 429-9777