Tennesee Aquarium (Need some input please)

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
There are about 150 fish species in southeast TN. A few really spectacular ones include: longear sunfish, southern studfish, brook trout, greenside darter, holiday darter, tangerine darter, Tennessee dace, rainbow shiner, Tennessee shiner, scarlet shiner, warpaint shiner, and tricolor shiner.

Be sure to check out the Conasauga and Hiwassee rivers in Polk County, about an hour's drive east of Chattanooga. These are beautiful protected streams with clear water and lots of fish.

Parts of the Hiwassee are dammed; these are great for snorkeling when there's no dam release, but have dangerous currents and lots of rafters when the dams are releasing. You can get release schedules for Hiwassee and Appalachia dams on TVA's website.

The Conasauga is a small, unregulated river; its flow is dependent on rainfall, and it can be a raging torrent after a heavy rain. There is a trail along the Conasauga near its confluence with Jacks River in the Cherokee National Forest right along the Georgia/Tennessee state line. The river here consists of deep pools separated by boulder-strewn rapids; it's one of my favorite places to snorkel. Stick your head in some of those rapids and you will see displays of color to rival anything from the Carribean or Amazon. Lots of turtles here too.
 
I like the tennessee lay out but the georgia has more areas and is much larger.
 
If going from NE Indiana down, hit several places on the trip... Toledo Zoo, Col. Zoo, Newport Aq and Smokie's all in one trip.

One of my old interns is at TN Aquarium now. :D
 
Hey there,
I live in Chattanooga, and can attest that the TN aquarium is absolutely wonderful. It houses some HUGE sturgeon in some of the river tanks, They even allow you to touch the lake sturgeon. You will ride a long escalator to the top of the building where there is a solarium that has wild birds, and an open tank that basically flows down through one large multi display system describing the the rain cycle from mountain streams with trout misc minnow species and darters, river otters, all the way to the tennessee river which houses some monstrous blue and channel cats with other native fish. There are also lots of different river biotopes from around the world to see (the cichla/piranha tank is my favorite); a very large gulf of mexico tank (huge green morays, sand tiger sharks and green sea turtles), a jelly exhibit that is just beautiful, a seahorse exhibit with including leafy and weedy sea dragons, and tons of other things to see. I should also mention that they have a behind the scenes tour where they show you how everything is run (filters, animal nutrition, husbandry in general) well worth the extra $$.
As far as the sight seeing goes, there are lots of spectacular things to check out. It's not the river trails you want to see , but the mountain trails (they are beautiful and mossy even now), and there are many to choose from in the surrounding area within minutes from downtown Chatt. As for seeing any wild fish, they tend to dissapear in the winter months, but by summer the waters are warmer and they all seem to make themselves visible. My family owns land in Marion county
on the Little Sequatchie River (its more of a creek), but I have stood there on the banks and watched 4+ foot longnose gar cruise around the boulders all afternoon.
Tellico Plains is about an hour and a half north on the TN/NC border. You can take a snorkel and mask up there and see the tangerine darters (one of the most beautiful and colorful native fish in the U.S.) also very colorful shiners, daces, madtoms, skulkins, etc. around that area in the mountain creeks and streams. There's also a trout farm owned by the state up there along the upper Tellico river. The trout are stocked periodically to maintain natural populations so they aren't fished out. I always begged my dad to let me take a dipnet to that trout farm when I was a child hehe. They would have been so easy to catch! I guess I didn't have enough patience to keep my hook and line in the water long enough to catch them out of the river. The water up there is very cold even throughout the summer months, but it's crystal clear and there are waterfalls galore. Bald river falls is the most spectacular at around 80'.
(http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/tellico_tn1.htm)
We truly have a beautiful area for nature buffs and some breathtaking mountain views.
I'd be happy to help you find some very nice driftwood. There is a lake that is partially drained off during the winter months about 20 mins north of downtown. There is wood laying all over the bottom where the lake has receded. Some of it is
old wood. It's a bit daunting to trek through the mud ( it can be a foot or so deep) so you'd need good waterproof boots. I have a pickup truck load of it now sitting on my patio, pieces as big or as small as one ask for. I just need to pressure wash it and scrub it down before I could use any of it in a tank.
Rock City and Ruby falls are both a bit on the touristy side, in my opinion, but still neat to visit. A waste of money in my opinion when you have all the mountain trails with clear rapids and mountain pools within minutes. I'd be happy to show you around, and if you want to know anything else I'd be much obliged to help you out.
Just let me know,
Adam Puryear ( a little about me... I'm a 29 year old classical pianist/teacher and visual artist, I love all parts of the natural world and I try to submerse myself in world culture, I am an avid aquarist of course.) :-)
 
tangerine_male1_web.jpg


Here's one of the tangerine darters that I mentioned above.
 
Don't forget to take the behind the scenes tour of the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, it is like $10+/- extra and well worth it! They take you through the filtration rooms and then upstairs to the "kitchen" where they show you their recipe for the fish food and then to the catwalk above the main tank where they let you feed the fish!!! It's a very cool place to visit.
Search the Photo Lounge for Chattanooga Aquarium or Tennessee Aquarium. Someone posted TONS of pics back in November(i think). His pics will really make you want to go!!!

There is also Fall Creek Falls which is just a short trip west of Chattanooga. Great hiking and the largest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains, 256ft. TALL!!!! I went there for New Years, here are links to my pic thread and video thread.......

Pics
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202724

Video
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202712


BTW, the videos of us walking along the river are not a recognized trail. We knew where the rivers led too and decided to take the "Scenic Route" to the other side of the park rather than using the actual trails. It is NOT illegal to go this way, they just don't suggest it since it is kinda dangerous in places.
 
Wow, a couple of great replies.

Thanks loads for all the information.

We aren't sure of an exact plan or what days yet but it will be sometime from March 9-13th, hopefully the weather is nice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom