John G. Shedd Aquarium
Chicago, Illinois
The John G. Shedd Aquarium is a spectacular public aquarium on Lake Michigan. Living in the Chicagoland area, it is really awesome to have such an amazing institution close by.
The John G. Shedd Aquarium opened in 1930. It has 5,000,000 gallons of water and a boatload of different species. The founding for the aquarium was by John G. Shedd, who worked for Marshall Field (who the Field Museum is named after).
One thing the Shedd focuses on greatly is conservation. Because of this and the proximity to Lake Michigan, The Shedd Aquarium has a strong focus on Great Lakes protection. They not only have displays of native fish, but also invasive fish that pose threats.
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 Yellow Perch |
 Rock Bass |
 Walleye |
 African Snakehead |
The Rivers exhibit has lotss of common pet shop fish, but there are also some cool fish and some common fish that are just stunning. One fish they have that is beautiful is the Asian Arowana. Sadly I was unable to get a photo. they did have some large and stunning Giant Gourami.
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 Mbu Puffer |
 Fire Eel |
 Giant Gorami |
 Humphead Glassfish |
 Red Rainbow |
 Kissing Gourami |
 Dnisonii Barb |
 Yellow Rainbow |
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The Islands and Lakes exhibit has a lot of common fish, but the exhibits are beatiful and have lots of nice plants.
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My favorite part of the aquarium is the Amazon Rising exhibit. It is the exhibit with the most cichlid species and is the only exhibit with some rarer cichlids. It is large and contains some huge fish. The exhibit has a boat load of Motoro and Leopoldi Rays which are beautiful. The Shedd breeds lots of them and if you get a behind the scenes tour you'll be able to see how many little pups they have in back. The exhibit also houses a gorgeous Arapaima and some Peacock Bass.
 Freshwater Ray |
 Angelfish |
 Arapaima |
 Caquetia spectible |
 Chocolate Cichlid |
 Dorado |
 Matta Matta Turtle |
 Myleus rubripinnis |
 Oscar |
 Peacock Bass |
 Crenicichla sp. |
 Crenicichla sp. |
 Hystrix Pleco |
 Underside of P. leopoldi Ray |
 Red Hook Silverdollar |
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The Shedd also has a lot of saltwater fish and some stunning saltwater displays. The wild reef is absolutely huge and quite impressive. The Oceanarium is back up and running again and is quite nice.
 Queen Angel |
 Coral and Tang |
 Lookdowns |
If you are visiting Chicago and are a fish nut, you need to go. It's a classic aquarium and a fun trip.