Added on December 22, 2024:
We have added new Japanese corals. Please see here for details.

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At Tokyo Sea Life Park, we have been working on exhibiting corals in a large tank in the "Coral Reef Sea" exhibit since July 2022. This was our first attempt at such an exhibit, and based on the challenges we encountered during the approximately two years of the exhibit, we carried out renovation work in September 2024 to improve facilities such as lighting and water quality.

Due to renovation work, the number of exhibited creatures has decreased. As soon as the tank environment is ready, we will gradually introduce more creatures to enhance the exhibit.

We plan to add corals, sea cucumbers, and shellfish around the end of 2024, and then fish as we monitor the conditions in the tank.

We hope you will enjoy watching the "Coral Reef Sea" tank as its exhibits gradually expand. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to visitors during this time, and we appreciate your understanding.

Added on December 22, 2024: Added Japanese corals.

Coral added to the "Coral Reef Sea" tank
We have recently added new Japanese corals to our "Coral Reef Sea" tank. We plan to add fish in due course, so please come and see them up close.

Added on October 14, 2024: Background and Outlook

"Coral Reef Sea" Aquarium
Currently, many coral reefs around the world are in a critical state due to various stresses such as global warming and ocean acidification. Healthy coral reefs still existing in Japan are also predicted to disappear by the 2040s. In light of this situation, the aquarium has begun preparations to reintroduce the corals it is raising back into their natural habitats in the future, in cooperation with the habitats of reef-building stony corals (hereinafter referred to as corals) [※1].

When reintroducing organisms, including corals, into the wild, great care must be taken to avoid introducing species that were not originally native to the area or genetically different populations. For this reason, aquariums currently collect all the organisms for their "Coral Reef Sea" tanks from specific regions.


The process of transporting coral. The collection locations are limited to ensure that it can be reintroduced.
Furthermore, facilities are needed to keep the corals in good health. Since July 2022, the aquarium has been exhibiting corals in its "Coral Reef Sea" tank. Keeping corals in a large, closed-loop tank with a water volume of approximately 200 tons [※2] is rare nationwide and is the first such initiative at the aquarium.

After raising corals for about two years, we realized that we needed to improve the water flow and lighting in the tank to keep them in better condition. To carry out this work, we had to drain all the water from the tank, so we temporarily closed the exhibit, drained the water, and removed all the organisms.


The process of removing the creatures from the tank in preparation for construction work.
On a slightly different note, many aquariums use filters to keep the water clean. They utilize the power of bacteria living inside the filter, especially to break down harmful substances such as ammonia. If you drain all the water, you have to cultivate the bacteria from scratch, so it takes time for the filter to start working properly again.

Therefore, the "Coral Reef Sea" tank is currently exhibiting with a limited number of creatures. We plan to gradually add more creatures as the necessary equipment is ready. We are planning to start exhibiting corals, shellfish, and sea cucumbers around the end of this year. We will then observe how things go and plan to exhibit various types of fish as well. We hope you will watch the "Coral Reef Sea" tank as the exhibits gradually expand.

Our greatest wish is for Japan's healthy coral reefs to continue to be maintained within their natural habitats. At the same time, we believe that one of the aquarium's missions is to do what we can now to help protect Japan's coral reefs in the event of an emergency.

Currently, the exhibits are rather sparse, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to our visitors. We appreciate your understanding.

^ *1 Reintroduction: Attempts to re-establish extinct or endangered species in areas where they previously lived.
^ *2 Closed-loop system: A system in which breeding water is sent to a filter by a pump to remove dirt from the water for breeding.

(September 25, 2024)
(October 14, 2024: Added "Background and Outlook")
(December 22, 2024: Added "Japanese coral has been added")