The first place I went to after my role play was the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. It turns out that only the front room is available to the public. This means I wasn't able to check out what research they are currently doing. However, the front room was fascinating so the visit was well worth its time!
First, there is some great art on the front door. This is part of it:
The first thing you see when you walk it in a large Mbuna cichlid tank. It was quite standard except for one fish which I didn't recognise. It was some sort of suckermouth fish but I don't think it's a pleco and doesn't really look like a loach. Its yellow colouration wasn't evenly spaced on it's face so I wonder if maybe it had some sort of genetic abnormality. It also had pink puffs on its face which could be bites from the cichlids.
Then there was the coelacanth. I'd always wanted to see one, even if it is in formaldehyde. Standing next to it gave me a really good feel for it's size, which while being the size I expected, somehow felt even bigger in real life. I could also study it in great detail, which allowed me to notice things that one simply can't see in pictures and documentaries.
I was excited to see there was even more! The next area was filled with information on coelacanths and have two other specimen (including a juvenile, which I had recently been wondering about!). I didn't take photos of most of the exhibit unfortunately.
I later found every more fishy things. I discovered a small pet store which stocked fish equipment and a few fish. It's good to know that if I moved here I would have a place to get fish (and ratty) basics. At the pet store I found my second mystery fish for the day. They moved too fast for me to get a good photograph, but I hope the one I took might help me identify it at some point.
I still have more exploration to post about, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. It's getting a bit late and I'm running out of time.
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