25-year-old Ocean treats coral reef fish to cake
Monday, 7 April 2025
In celebration of Burgers' Ocean's 25th anniversary, we are treating the coral reef fish in Europe's largest living coral reef to a home-made fish jelly cake. Two divers from the Ocean team will descend into the coral reef on Monday, 7 April 2025, with the healthy treat. We and a few other leading international public aquaria are world leaders in coral and ray breeding.
7 April 2000: a revolutionary public aquarium opens its doors
On 7 April 2000, Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet officially opened Burgers' Ocean. The tropical coral reef aquarium at our zoo has a volume of eight million litres of water, and the giant panoramic window was the largest aquarium window in the world at the time. Step by step, we worked to develop a living coral reef—a world first for a public aquarium. The Ocean's design simulates a dive into the tropical coral sea of the Indo-Pacific.
World-leading: coral and ray breeding
In 25 years, Burgers' Ocean has evolved into a public aquarium that, alongside several international colleagues, has become a world leader in coral and ray breeding. We have been the world's largest breeder of spotted eagle rays for years and donates dozens of home-grown corals to other aquaria throughout Europe every year
YouTube videos featuring three early supporters
Marine biologist Max Janse, curator of Burgers' Ocean, has been involved with the tropical coral reef aquarium in Arnhem since its construction. The same goes for head aquarist Miranda Verbeek and aquarist Frank Wennekers.
