Sea Life Grapevine Aquarium offers underwater room with a view
Dwarf caimans, pythons, piranhas and a bearded dragon greeted visitors at the grand opening Friday of the Rainforest Adventure at Sea Life Grapevine Aquarium.
The 3,500-square-foot interactive permanent exhibit takes guests to the lush environments of the world’s rain forests.
The attraction offers an up-close view of piranhas as they swim overhead in the 8-foot-long walk-through tunnel. Guests can also observe the intriguing lifestyle of the Burmese python through a domed pop-up window and discover cold-water invertebrates in interactive touch tanks.
Daily educational talks include the chance to touch exotic reptiles, which don’t always make good pets.
Karen Rifenbury, displays curator, spoke of the importance of education, including teaching potential pet owners to research carefully before choosing family pets “to make sure they are right for them.”
Iain Scouller, regional general manager of Sea Life Grapevine, said a few confiscated or abandoned piranhas have been lucky enough to make Sea Life their home, as well as a handful of other exotic guests.
“When piranhas get confiscated, they may come to us in the middle of the night,” he said. “Of course, we’ll take them. We also don’t want them released by owners into our waterways. That wouldn’t be great.”
Three residents worth seeing
Toretto the Tegu
A lizard native to Central and South America, it can grow to 4 feet long. This one was rescued from an animal shelter in Flower Mound.
Mooshoo the Bearded Dragon
A lizard found in Australia. When threatened, it will puff up its neck, and the spikes found under its chin resemble a beard. This one was rescued from a back yard in The Colony.
Piranhas the killer fish
Some of the piranhas were seized by authorities because Texas laws do not allow the public to house piranhas. Sea Life Grapevine acquired a permit to rescue them. Known for their sharp teeth and affection for meat, piranhas will also make short, sharp barking noises if under attack.
Marty Sabota, 817-390-7367
If you go
▪ The aquarium is at Grapevine Mills mall, 3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway.
▪ $20 for adults, $16 for children ages 3-12, and free for kids 2 and under
This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Sea Life Grapevine Aquarium offers underwater room with a view."