Atlantis launches guided behind the scenes tours for greater understanding of marine life

Dedicated touch pools filled with starfish and pencil urchins, both found in local Arabian waters, and horse shoe crabs, the spiders of the sea, have brought guests in close contact with an amazing aquatic ecosystem otherwise unknown to many.

And now, Atlantis is taking the experience one step further by introducing a range of Guided Back of House Tours allowing guests the opportunity to enjoy its popular exhibits from a new perspective.

Guests get to join in on any of the scheduled daily Guided Back of House Tours of choice and experience an Aquarist's view. Led by a Navigator - a fully qualified guide, guests above the age of 6 experience first hand some of the elements involved in caring for the marine life nestled in the underground tunnels and passageways of The Lost Chambers.

Within the various habitats, fish and sea creatures represent over 250 species and are managed by a team of more than 150 full-time Marine Animal Specialists from veterinarians, biologists, aquarists, divers, laboratory mangers, food technicians, mechanics and curators who tend to this delicate eco-system on a 24-hour basis.

The experience lasts between 40 and 45 minutes and begins once the guests (up to 6 guests per session) are greeted by a Navigator who escort the group to the first stop on their discovery route; the Ambassador Lagoon Mechanical room. The Atlantis marine operation is an impressive technical feat with over 42 million litres of sea water circulated through the lagoons, exhibits and pools.

Here guests are given a better understanding of how the water is drawn from the Arabian Gulf into an open-flow system through an almost four million litres reservoir, and then sand filtered, and infused and cleaned with ozone before flowing into the marine habitats around the resort. Guests are then guided through the fish hospital with quarantine pools for newborns, ailing and acclimatising marine life, and a dedicated food preparation area which serves a daily menu of approximately 300 kilos of restaurant-quality 'fish food' including shrimp, squid, sardines and minnows. The group concludes its journey by participating in a 15 minute feeding and explanation of life support systems.

Guests can choose to partake in any of the five feedings on offer which include the Anchovy/ Coral Tank, the Giant Groupers, the Moray Eels, the Piranhas, and a feeding at the Ambassador Lagoon. As an example of the resort's commitment to excellence and detail in every aspect of the marine habitat, cases of romaine lettuces are served to herbivores, special food blocks of dental plaster, pellets and powdered algae are fed to parrotfish; and live shrimp are cultured and fed to jellyfish.

For those seeking the ultimate thrill, a Cownose Ray Feeding at the Mesopotamian-styled Ziggurat in Aquaventure is the definitive feeding experience. Guests (up to 6 guests per feeding) join an Aquarist in the shallow waters of the Shark Lagoon for a 30 to 35 minute hands-on experience. Guests learn about the anatomy of these graceful species while the hungry rays emerge for their tasty treats.

The minimum age for this experience is 6 years old and children under 12 years old must be accompanied by an adult. Guests should be prepared to get wet during this encounter.

To avoid disappointment, guests are encouraged to book their Guided Back of House Tour and Cownose Ray Feeding in advance by visiting the Aquaventure Ticketing Plaza.

Resort guests and day visitors can participate in a Back of House Tour. Day visitors are also required to purchase admission to The Lost Chambers - bringing them into close contact with the myth of the ancient Atlanteans and allowing them to explore the mazes and underground passageways of exhibits, pools, lagoons and underwater ruins of an impressive variety of marine life including sharks, eels, rays, piranhas, hundreds of exotic and tropical fish. For an enjoyable journey though the Back of House tour areas, comfortable shoes are required, no high heels allowed.