Mermaid Monday: Ariel visits the aquarium

Welcome, March! And welcome to my first post of the year! I seriously can't believe how fast time flies. It feels like it was yesterday that I made my last blog post, when in reality it's been three months. Ooops! Lots of things have been going on these months, but today I wanted to share our experience at the Barcelona Aquarium, a place I'd been wanting to visit since we arrived to the city, for a really cool Mermaid Monday (though I know it's actually Thursday).

First of all, no good visit to any aquarium could be complete without a proper Disneybound of an ocean-related character. Honestly, I feel it's very hard to find a comfortable and beautiful outfit with these cold temperatures. I wish I could Disneybound every day of my life, which is already quite a daunting task, but it's even more difficult when you have to wear three or four layers of clothes to protect yourself from the cold. I'm so not feeling like Elsa in winter! But with a bit of planning I was able to choose a nice ensemble to portray Ariel during my trip to the aquarium honoring a lovely Mermaid Monday.

My outfit was simple, but highly recognizable. The beautiful green mermaid dress by Retrolicious, which I got from The Oblong Box Shop, served as a wonderful base to channel Ariel. You can read a detailed review of this dress if you go back a few posts in the blog, or simply click here. Its green scaley pattern perfectly resembles the little mermaid's tail, while the dark purple cardigan tied over it evokes her sea shell top. Everything came together nicely with a pair of tropical-themed flats in a similar color scheme. Those weren't my first shoe option, but given that we had a long walk ahead of us, they started to seem like a pretty good choice. We left our coats and scarves inside a locker at the aquarium's entrance, since the building is completely enclosed and has no outdoor tanks or shows. Here's a little side-by-side:

We had a *splash* at the aquarium, where we got to see dozens of large fish tanks with around 450 different species of marine animals. Fish, eels, sharks, starfish, mantas, jellyfish, and even penguins made their appearances throughout the place. There are special daily "feeding show" schedules, where you can see crew members feeding some of the animals. My absolute favorite part was a long underwater tunnel filled with fish and sharks, which reminded me of the similar tunnels at the Boston Aquarium and Sea World Orlando. However, I must say that larger animals like orcas, walruses, dolphins and others were nowhere to be found. We really expected to see some big mammals, but the only sizable beast we saw was a really hunchbacked bull shark. He is the pride of the Barcelona Aquarium, and you can actually opt to swim with the sharks in that tank... for quite a high price!

Tickets are also a bit overpriced in relation to what you get to see, at least according to us, so it's nice to wait for discounts and offers. We actually got a great coupon with 4€ off each ticket. Savings, savings, come to me! Although it was a fun adventure, I think the Barcelona Aquarium definitely doesn't rank in my top three favorite aquariums. Regardless, it was a wonderful experience and this little Ariel is always glad to visit fishy friends. I truly felt like a mermaid in the ocean for a whole day. Aquariums are one of my go-to places all around the world... I think I'll be going back soon to get a new shark plushie from the aquarium store to add to my collection.

By the way, I was able to identify all the fish species from Finding Nemo swimming in different tanks. I'm guessing that after the movie became so popular, hundreds of aquariums around the world began to place these fish together for Disney fans to discover. You can use my guide "A study on Finding Nemo's aquarium fish" to look for them next time you go to any aquarium! Just follow this link. And speaking of Nemo, have you checked out @TheDisneybound 's new March Disneybound challenge? I will be partaking in this, so stick around my Instagram account to check all the Disney-inspired outfits I post this month. Let's get our Disney on!

Come back later for new posts and cool findings! 

How To Make Your Own Spongebob's Pineapple Home

Spongebob's pineapple definitely portrays a unique and funny home choice. Now you can have your own with this make-your-own pineapple mini tutorial! 

These are the materials you will need to make this awesome piece:

-Pottery clay

-Water

-A balloon

-Pottery tools (A toothpick and a knife will do just fine)

-A sponge
-Paintbrushes

-Paint:

   +Green for the leaves

   +Yellow for the pineapple

   +Light blue for the windows, chimney & door

   +Orange for the details

Here's a small step-by-step with supporting images of the process:

1. Inflate the balloon just above the minimum capacity and build the pineapple's body around it. Make sure to make the bottom flat.
2. Carve out the two circles for the windows and a smaller lateral circle to insert the chimney.
3. Make the outer door and window frames molding thin clay rolls (about half a centimeter thick). Attach them to the body by making small markings with the toothpick on the areas to put together, wet them a little and stick the parts to the body. (You can also make the whole door with the helm instead of just the arch).
4. Make another roll for the chimney and attach a bell-like ending. Stick it into the lateral hole.
5. Take out the balloon carefully through the bottom of the body for the pineapple to stand on its own.
6. Trace the body lines with the toothpick or carving tool. Don't make them too deep or you could end up cutting part of the body! Then do the "X" markings in the middle of each "diamond" in the body.

7. For the leaves, make a half-centimeter thick layer and cut out 9 leaves: Starting from a middle leaf, draw the other four to each side, each becoming smaller than the last one. Then order them in a triangular shape (biggest in the middle, smallest on the edges). Attach them together with the same technique as before. Wet your sponge a little and rub it on the leaves smoothly to flatten any irregularities.
8. Attach the whole leaf bunch into the center-top body of the pineapple (same technique as before).

9. Leave it all to dry for a couple of days. (Unless you have one of those fancy pottery ovens).

10. Once dry, paint it all. I started by painting the orange details and the inner piece. Then I moved on to the yellow part. Next, the leaves. Afterwards, the door, windows and chimney. Finally, I passed a brush with orange dust-paint over the whole body in order to give it that fresh-pineapple appearance.
11. You can later coat the piece with white glue or varnish for extra protection. If you are going to use it on a fish tank or over humid dirt, you MUST bake it and coat it at least twice with varnish.

Voilá! A perfect Spongebob's pineapple home. 

You can use this pineapple as an ornament, as a cake topper, as an aquarium decoration or as anything you like. I personally made this one as a home for my escargot snail, Gary. Unfortunately he passed away before I managed to finish it properly. Now I just use it as a decorationin my tiki-themed bedroom.

Did you know? #4: A study on Finding Nemo's aquarium fish

Finding Nemo is, perhaps, one of Pixar's most cherished motion pictures worldwide. This "Best Animated Film Academy Award" winner was released in the year 2003, and it set the record for the highest-grossing opening weekend for an animated film, rounding up over 70 million dollars.

The movie mostly takes place in the ocean, where two of the three main characters (Marlin and Dory) meet many different sea creatures while searching for Marlin's lost son, Nemo. Of course, what they don't know is that Nemo has been taken by a dentist who puts him in his dentist office's aquarium, (at P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney) amongst other previously trapped fish.

Animal Kingdom's Finding Nemo - The Musical

P. Sherman's visor tag

Not only is the movie exciting and the sea landscapes breathtaking, but it's the fine choice and creation of its characters what really brings life into the film. In fact, the characters became so popular that the sales of Clownfish and other tropical marine fish in America skyrocketed after the movie was released. Nevertheless, since these fish are naturally free marine sea creatures it became a problem for the ecosystems, mainly because the extreme extraction of tropical fish caused a reef species decimation in countries such as Vanuatu.

In Walt Disney World Resort's Epcot Park there is an attraction called "The Living Seas", which directs most of its components towards the Finding Nemo film. There are a couple of tanks holding real life species of all the Finding Nemo fish tank characters: Nemo and Marlin, Dory, Deb/Flo, Bubbles, Gill, Bloat, Pearl, Gurgle and Jacques. In the next section, you will find detailed information about each of these character's family group, species, habitat and other curious things you might want to know.

Nemo, Marlin and Dory's friends say HI!

A lot of Finding Nemo's marine characters at Sydney

All the aquarium characters mentioned above are tropical marine fishes, each belonging to a different group and family. This makes them part of the sea creatures living in the 77% of Earth's surface. A main problem with these fish living in tanks is that these species have very little tolerance to even the slightest change of their water conditions, both in salinity, temperature and cleanliness. Here's a little on each of these fellows:

1. Nemo and Marlin: Common Clownfish
-Group: Anemonefishes   -Family: Pomacentridae
-Species: Amphiprion ocellaris

This fish's common habitat is coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific Ocean. This type of Clownfish has three black-edged white bands across its yellow/orange body. It will chase out other fish from its chosen territory.

2. Deb/Flo: Black-Tailed Humbug
-Group: Damselfishes   -Family: Pomacentridae
-Species: Dascyllus melanurus

This fish inhabitates corals around the Western Pacific Ocean. The Black-Tailed Humbug has a white body with three dark stripes, with the tip of its tail creating a fourth stripe. Like most members of its genus or group, this fish is never far away from corals in the wild.

3. Dory: Regal Tang
-Group: Sturgeons and Tangs   -Family: Acanthuridae
-Species: Paracanthurus hepatus

The Regal Tang lives in coastal reefs from East Africa towards the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It has a blue body with dark blue markings and a yellow triangle on its tail. This fish is very active, thus requires plenty of space for its own. His color may fade while aging.

4. Bubbles: Yellow Tang
-Group: Sturgeons and Tangs   -Family: Acanthuridae
-Species: Zebrasoma flavescens

This fish's natural habitat is shallow waters, particularly around Hawaii. Its all-yellow body gives him a velvety appearance due to the small scales. In Hawaii, these fish are called Lau'i-pala, possibly because of their similarity to a shovel.

5. Gurgle: Royal Gramma
-Group: Basses and Groupers   -Family: Serranidae
-Species: Gramma loreto

The Royal Gramma's natural habit is coral reef caves of the Caribbean Sea. This particular fish has a vivid body coloration, split between bright yellow on its rear and violet up in front. Males from this species protect a spawning cave and breed with various females daily.

6. Bloat: Long-Spined Porcupinefish
-Group: Porcupinefishes and Pufferfishes   -Family: Diodontidae
-Species: Diodon holocanthus

This fish tends to inhabitate seaweed and near-shore rocky beds both in the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. It has a golden/brown body with a paler bottom side and can usually have dark dots too. The Porcupinefish carries its spines folded against his body, but will inflate himself when frightened.

7. Gill: Moorish Idol
-Group: Zanclidae   -Family: Zanclidae
-Species: Zanclus canescens

The Moorish Idol lives in coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific Sea. His black and white striped body also features dashes of yellow near the tail and snout. Its dorsal fin has very long, extended rays which are also black, white and yellow.

8. Peach: Pink Sea Star
-Group: Asteroidea   -Family: Asteriidae
-Species: Pisaster brevispinus

The Pink Sea Star's usual habitat is coral reefs. Due to its bright pink coloring it becomes an easy prey in darker environments; that is why it has the ability to stay on the corals and blend in. As all other starfishes, this species also has the ability to regenerate fully from a separate part of a sea star.

9. Jacques: Pacific Cleaner Shrimp
-Group: Malacostraca   -Family: Hippolytidae
-Species: Lysmata amboinensis

This shrimp species inhabitates the reef ecosystems, specially in the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific. Its body is bright red on the top and white on the bottom. The cleaner shrimp has long antennaes, which he uses to eat dead tissue and parasites off other fish, thus "cleansing" such fish.

All of the information and facts about Finding Nemo's aquarium fish found above were taken from the book "Aquarium Fish" by Eyewitness Handbooks.