The aquarium

There is a really nice freshwater aquarium in my city that I finally made it to. Besides the fact that we couldn'td read any of the information about the displays (except the Latin names of the animals), it was a really nice trip. They had exhibits of the local flora and fauna as well as a whole floor devoted to the "Rivers of the World". We saw frogs, snakes, salamanders, newts and gigantic catfish. One thing struck me as a major difference between the aquariums I've been to and Japanese aquariums- the gift shops in the U.S. tend to have at least SOME educational products, but this gift shop only had CUTE. I couldn't get anything that would help me learn about these animals/ecosystems, but I could get a really cute otter charm to hang from my cell phone.
Anyway, here are some pictures:
I can't remember the name of this frog, but it was just so... fat.



This was my favorite creature at the aquarium- the fire-bellied newt. They would just float at the surface of the water for a bit, then kind of waddle their way downwards. I couldn't read about them to learn what they were doing, but I could have watched them all day.


Also the fire-bellied newt, but the opposite sex (we were guessing) of the others. It was kept in its own little cage inside the tank with the others.


Cool, local (I think) turtles.