October Newsletter 2025
Trick-or-Treat at Aquarium Encounters
Are you looking for spooky plans this Halloween season? Join us here at Aquarium Encounters for trick-or-treating. On October 25th, we will have trick-or-treating stations around our facility and spooky fun! Kids in costume will receive free admission with a paying adult. If you have an annual membership, this event is included in your membership. We will begin when we open at 9 am and will continue until we run out of candy! Don’t miss out on this fun event!
Mermaids at Aquarium Encounters
Splash into fun with mermaids at Aquarium Encounters! They will be here on October 4th and 5th. Their swim shows will start at 11 am and 2 pm. Afterward, you can have the opportunity to meet and interact with them! Looking to interact even more with our mermaid friends? We offer a mermaid snorkel in our coral reef tank. For $115, you can hand-feed our stingrays and fish as well as feed our sharks through the glass wall. Don’t miss out on this magical experience. Call ahead to reserve your spot to swim with mermaids!
Reptile and Amphibian Awareness Day – 10/21
Amphibians play a large role in the ecosystem and are known as indicator species, meaning they help to determine the health of the general ecosystem. They are sensitive to environmental changes like disease, drought, and pollution. Reptiles are vastly important in the food chains and without them, there would be a major gap in the chain, causing a collapse of the ecosystem.
Our staff wanted to shed some light on larger issues, specifically about the ownership of reptiles and amphibians. When purchasing a reptile or amphibian, be sure to do your research. Knowing lifespans, habitat requirements, dietary needs, and general health will help you decide if those types of pets are right for you! This will also help to ensure that reptiles and amphibians are not released into the wild when an owner can no longer care for or want them! Releasing animals into a habitat where they are not native can cause a variety of issues for the natural environment. The most prominent example is the spread of a new invasive species which can be detrimental to an ecosystem. If you have a reptile or amphibian and are no longer able to care for them, there are other routes you can take like donating it to a facility as opposed to releasing it into the wild. Many of the reptiles that we have at Aquarium Encounters are donated to us by people who can no longer care for their pets.
Download our free app!
Looking for a new way to connect with the Aquarium Encounters? We are excited to share our newest project with you! Download our new free app to enjoy live webcams, webinars, animal quizzes, live feeder cameras, and more! You can now immerse yourself in the wonders of the ocean from anywhere in the world! To download our app, head to your app store and search “Aquarium Encounters”!
Welcome our new manatees!
On 9/25 we welcomed two manatees into our facility who will remain here with us until they are deemed healthy enough to return to their natural habitats. One manatee was an orphaned calf who was rescued from the Vaca Cut in Marathon on 8/27/24 and the other was rescued on 5/5/25 from South Sound Creek due to a buoyancy problem. Both manatees will continue their rehabilitation journey here at Aquarium Encounters until they are releasable.
REACH
Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters is proud to be the only Manatee Rehabilitation facility in the Florida Keys. Working in coordination with multiple agencies including U.S. Fish & Wildlife, Florida Fish & Wildlife, MRP, as well as numerous state and local organizations that it requires to render aid to this vulnerable species. We are currently rehabbing manatees and will release them back into the wild once they are healthy. These animals eat 10-20% of their body weight every day. For smaller manatees like those under our care, that is over 100 pounds of lettuce per animal per day! We are grateful to further assist this iconic Florida mammal as a rehabilitation facility and look forward to widening our positive impact on the species. However, we can’t do it alone! With the help of people like you, we can continue to strive towards conservation and preservation of the iconic Florida Keys habitat and all the animals who inhabit it. We do this through our R3EACH program. R3EACH is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit with a mission that involves Research, Rescue and Rehabilitation of the threatened marine species and Education and Awareness for Communities about the fragile marine Habitats that make up the Florida Keys. Your R3EACH donation will go towards continuing education, rehabilitation, and research! If you would like to support, click the link below!