disinclined to employ an aquarist
among their crew there is always the
option of an easier-to-maintain
artificial reef, such as the one that
fills the vast 700 gallon aquarium of
OceancoAlfa Nero. This was created
by Living Color, a US specialist in
onboard and public aquariums,
whose clients include Disney Parks,
Universal Studios Theme Parks
and South Florida Science Center
and Aquarium.
As Daniela Iurascu, of London-
based Aquarium Architecture, puts
it: “Artificial corals are indeed an
easier option than living ones,
which require weekly professional
maintenance. But the beauty of
natural corals cannot truly be
replicated. And artificial corals need
expert cleaning periodically, so we
recommend having a second set.”
Then there’s the aquarium itself.
Iurascu recommends acrylic over
glass for its construction, which is
less likely to fracture under stress.
She also suggests having back-up
filtration equipment – the lives of
your fish may depend on it – and a
battery in case of a power failure.
Care, too, should be taken over
the aquarium’s location. Too much
heat can affect the health of the fish.
And too much light can create algae
in a freshwater aquarium. (Beach
clubs, therefore, aren’t ideal.) “And
it’s not a good idea to put an
aquarium next to the sound system,”
she warns, “as fish really don’t like
noise.” (They can also suffer from
seasickness. In 2009, Dr Reinhard
Hilbig, a zoologist at the University
of Hohenheim in Stuttgart,
analyzed the behavior of 49 fish in
an aquarium on an airplane after
the aircraft went into a sharp dive.
Eight of them “completely lost their
sense of balance,” he observed,
losing “their orientation [and
becoming] completely confused.”
His conclusion was that a loss of
eye contact with the movement of
the water and the vibration caused
them to become disoriented.)
Deployed carefully, aquariums
can make intriguing room dividers.
On 247ft OceancoAnastasia, Sam
Sorgiovanni placed a 700 gallon
tank between the lounging and
dining areas of the 100ft main
salon, so that its corals and colorful
inhabitants can be admired from
both sides.
Other Oceanco yachts also
incorporate an aquarium.Jubilee
has one by its beach club; and, also
the work of Sorgiovanni,Nirvana
features not just an aquarium but
two vivariums. “It was the owner
who suggested we have lizards
and water dragons,” Sorgiovanni
has said. (Though there are also
frogs, turtles and a chameleon.)
“The jungle theme of the yacht
developed from there. The design
intent was to create the kind ofrelaxing and refreshing feeling you
get when visiting a tropical island.”
Of course, water dragons look a
lot less scary than they sound. But
Aquarium Architecture has created
an Amazonian environment in
a 660 gallon tank stocked with 17
“ravenous, fearsome, typical James
Bond meat-eating” red-bellied
piranhas, which were flown in
from Brazil and have to be fed by
hand each day. “Some clients just
want something out of the ordinary,”
says Iurascu. “We’re currently
working on two tall jellyfish tanks
for a yacht. And we’ve had clients
ask for octopuses, rays and sharks.”
Nothing quite as audacious as
the three pairs apiece of great
whites, sand tigers and blacktips,
all of them deadly, that Hannibal
Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan
dictator Muammar, reportedly
requested for the gigantic boat he
ordered in 2012 from the South
Korean shipbuilder STX. But it’s
probably just a matter of time until
someone does.BBRANCHING OUT
Bonsai trees
decorate the Zen
garden on the 180ft
Benetti Ocean
Paradise, above,
while, top left, a
“dream” garden
adorns a guest cabin
on board SerenityPHOTOGRAPHS: MONDOMARINE; JEFF BROWN168