When Princeton Public Library opened its current building in 2004, one of its new and unique features was a saltwater fish tank located in the children’s section on the third floor. Ten years later, thanks to funds provided by the Friends of the Library, the library has upgraded to a new 300-gallon tank.
Dave Tilton of Allquatics, the Hamilton-based company contracted to maintain the tank and decide which fish and corals go in the aquarium, said he makes his choices by considering what will be most interesting to children.
“I try and give it a diversity of color and texture,” he said, noting that children tend to be attracted to brightly colored fish like the yellow tang.
The tank’s most popular fish by far are the clownfish, pictured above, and the hippo tang, which children know respectively as Nemo and Dory from the popular Pixar film “Finding Nemo.”
Tilton said the clownfish in the tank is about two inches long. He added that a basic clownfish, like the one featured in the tank costs about $20, but that a fancy, designer clownfish (a fish that is specially bred for deviations from its natural color and patterns) might cost up to a few hundred dollars.
The inhabitants of the tank come from all over the world. The yellow tang comes from Hawaii, there’s an arrow crab from Caribbean and there are anemones from Sri Lanka and the South Pacific. In addition, the rock that makes up the reef’s foundation comes from Fiji and the sand, known as live sand because it is biologically active, containing bacteria that help sustain the tank’s ecosystem, comes from the Bahamas.
Nevertheless, some of the creatures that dwell in the tank, particularly the corals, have never been in the ocean. They were cultivated via aquaculture instead of being taken from the wild.
Tilton said that before aquaculture, corals had to be taken directly from a reef, but now pieces of corals already living in aquariums can be taken to grow new colonies—a far more sustainable practice.
To look after the tank, Tilton or his employees stop by the library three or four times a week. Their tasks include cleaning the tank, changing the water and feeding the fish, the last of which is done every time they go to the library.
The library’s communications director Tim Quinn said the tank provides a diverse experience for kids and offers a different type of learning.
“Libraries are about more than just books and reading. It’s about reinventing and changing expectations of what a library is all about,” he said.
The new aquarium boasts several improvements over the old one including being lower and having a step up and a guard rail, all of which makes it more kid friendly. Additionally, the materials used in the new tank are superior, said Quinn. While the old tank was made of acrylic, which scratches easily, the new tank is made of a particularly clear type of glass called “starfire glass,” which is particularly clear. While the old tank used florescent lighting, the new tank is lighted by LED, which is more efficient and helps bring out the colors of the fish, said Quinn.
–Aliza Alperin-Sheriff
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