Macduff Marine Aquarium is getting into the spirit of the Commonwealth Games and the Support a Second Team initiative this summer and will be celebrating the games in a very fishy way. Aberdeenshire Council is behind Antigua and Barbuda and the aquarium is joining in by hosting their own Antiguan team – of coral reef fish.
Normally home only to cold-water-loving inhabitants of Scotland’s Moray Firth, the aquarium is creating a special Antiguan Caribbean reef display that will showcase fish and other animals that would be very familiar to the Antiguan athletes and sports people coming to Scotland for the games.
Antigua is one of the Caribbean Leeward Islands, with white coral beaches, palm trees and secluded bays, surrounded by coral reefs. Fish such as royal and green grammas, damsel fish, blue tangs and Caribbean cowfish are common residents of these reefs and will make a colourful splash in the aquarium’s Antiguan exhibit.
Aquarium manager Claire Matthews said: “We’re so excited to be setting up a tropical reef display in the aquarium. This will be a stand-alone exhibit as our system’s
water temperatures are way too cold for these Caribbean species that are used to balmy waters
of around 25C. It will make a fantastic comparison to our own Scottish rocky reefs featured elsewhere in the aquarium. And what a fun, fishy way to say ‘Go, Antigua!’ We wish the Antigua and Barbuda team the very best for their games – and, of course, they are all more than welcome to come and visit their fish during their stay in Scotland.”
The Antiguan Reef display will be up for the duration of the Commonwealth Games and until the end of August.