Question of the Day - 13 February 2007

Your hearing is correct and your son won't be disappointed. For a city in the middle of the desert, Las Vegas is home to a great number of fish and other water creatures, many of which can be viewed for free.

The Atlantis Aquarium to which you refer is located in the Forum Shops and is a 50,000-gallon saltwater tank that's home to about 500 fish, including rays and sharks. Twice a day, one brave diver ventures in to feed them (in the case of the sharks and rays, by hand). The feedings take place at 1:15 pm and 5:15 pm daily and, even cooler, at 3:15 pm daily you can enjoy a free "below-the-scenes" tour, which takes you beneath the tank and through the filtration system, kitchen, ray and shark pool, and fish acclimation areas. Meet at the tour-information sign in front of the aquarium, or call 702/893-3807.

Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay is open daily 10 am-11 pm (last admission sold at 10 p.m.) and costs $15.95 for adults and $10.95 for children 5-12. The aquarium holds nearly two million gallons of water and includes a tunnel that you can walk through, as sharks swim overhead. Other exhibits include rare reptiles, mezmerizing jellyfish, and a petting tank where you can tickle Southern rays, Port Jackson sharks, and Horseshoe crabs, plus there's a staff of 16 naturalists to answer your questions. If you happen to be at Mandalay Bay, but don't want to pay that (rather hefty) admission price, there's also a 12,200-gallon aquarium in the hotel lobby.

Talking of hotel lobbies, the Mirage has a 20,000-gallon saltwater aquarium located behind the front desk, where anyone's free to take a peek. It's home to angelfish, puffer fish, tangs, and more than 1,000 coral-reef animals (representing 60 species) from Australia, Hawaii, Tonga, Fiji, the Red Sea, the Marshall Islands, the Sea of Cortez, and the Caribbean. The tank is 53 feet long, eight feet deep, and six feet from front to back, with an interior carefully created to simulate a coral reef, without using any live coral (now a threatened species itself.)

Another excellent free exhibit is Silverton's collection of fresh and saltwater aquariums. The 117,000-gallon artificial reef is home to over 4,000 tropical fish, plus three species of stingrays and six species of sharks. Three times daily there's an interactive feeding show (1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 pm), with a Q&A portion, where you can pose questions to the diver. The Mermaid Lounge bar, adjacent to the aquarium, also features two 500-gallon LED-lit jellyfish tanks, which look like those hypnotic lava lamps from the '60s. And finally, the Bass Pro Shop is also home to an 18,000-gallon water feature, housing over 100 koi carp, a 20,000-gallon Nevada lake display that's home to huge channel catfish and other freshwater species, and a 28,000-gallon rapid-flowing canyon display, housing water birds, turtles, and more fish.

The newest addition to the Las Vegas' aquarium scene is the Tank at the Golden Nugget. While the pool area and water slide that goes through the middle of the shark tank is for hotel guests only, the 200,000-gallon aquarium, with its collection of sharks, game fish, and other aquatic creatures from around the world, is viewable by all for free.

The only other aquarium we knew of in town was originally outside MGM Grand's Sea Blue restaurant, but has since been removed. The reason? Apparently, the birds that occasionally make their way uninvited into the casino, via trade entrances and other ingresses, were crashing into the glass tank. This came as a surprise to us -- we've encountered birds in Parisian restaurants and taking a free ride on the London Underground system, but never in a Las Vegas casino. If any of our readers has ever encountered a bird (of the feathered variety) inside a casino here (and we're not talking about roasted chicken), we'd be fascinated to hear from you.

THE LATEST:

• "In response to your comments on birds in the casinos, we visited Vegas the week before Christmas, Dec. 2006, and while walking through Desert Passage at Aladdin, there were birds flying about and when we reached the casino, we saw two."

02/13/2007: More bird tales:

• "In response to your question about encountering birds in casinos, I've seen and/or heard birds many times in the last few years while staying at the Luxor in the trees/shrubs between the front lobby and the casino area. Since I am a 'bird person,' I've enjoyed their chirps and flitting through the trees as I've played the slots!"

"About birds: We saw a bird flying around at the buffet in Green Valley Ranch in Dec., 2006. It was eating crumbs off the floor. We told our waitress and she couldn't believe it when she saw it."

• "We, too have seen birds inside a casino. We come to Vegas regularly and always eat at the buffet at Mandalay Bay on Friday nights. There is always a bird or two in the buffet and they are always well fed."

"In regards to the bird question, I noticed a small sparrow in the Mirage sportsbook area by the deli. At first I thought I was seeing things with all the action going on, then I heard the tweeting."

02/12/2007 Many thanks to the reader who wrote in reminding us that we'd missed an aquarium:

• "You missed the VERY best aquarium. Even though it is only 7 gallons, it is the aquarium at the Seahorse Lounge in Caesars. We have taken many non-gamblers to the strip for the sole purpose of viewing this aquarium, which contains ONLY seahorses. They are fascinating and many people pass through Caesars and never see this little gem." (Ed: For anyone interested, they are Australian Pot Belly seahorses in this tank.)

And here's some feedback on the bird question:

• "In today's question you asked about birds in casinos. This was not in the casino - but would certainly have direct access ... We have seen birds in the MGM Food court. I think it was May of 2004, while eating breakfast a feathered friend joined us ... I believe it was well fed."

And:

• "In repsonse to your query about birds in casinos, I have seen birds in Paris casino in the trees on many occasions."

More:

• "In response to your QOD regarding feathered friends, I do recall seeing a bird in the MGM Grand, but not as close to the casino as Sea Blue. About 4 years ago when I visited, I was picking up my wife from the spa (down that same corridor), and I did see what looked like a small sparrow that could not find his way out. "Perhaps the fearless flyer entered downstairs from the pool area. As I recall, there are some large windows upstairs near the spa, and the little birdie was probably confused by what looked like 'outdoors.' "I didn't see it fly down the hallway towards the casino, so this was not technically a 'winged wagerer.' But, I can see how it could have easily flown down that way, especially if it sensed that there were some appetizers to scarf at Sea Blue!"

Even more:

• The shipping dept. at HP can confirm not only multiple sightings of birds in Paris (particularly around the champagne slots area, apparently) but also, on one notable occasion, a bat. This was spotted while on the way up to the room and was verified at the time by independent witnesses, so we know it wasn't a hallucination.

And more:

• My husband & I have always seen birds inside the Luxor lobby. We actually like to eat at La Salsa on the second level that overlooks the lobby and watch the birds fly around the trees. We have even tossed them some tortilla chips to watch them eat! They will come right up to you.

And here's another aquarium option that we didn't know about:

• "In today's QOD about aquariums you forgot to mention the ones at the Rainforest Cafe in the MGM Grand. Although they aren't as big as the others, there are several of them and one is unique with you being able to walk under a 'bridge' connecting the two sides."