COSTA MESA : Anonymous Donors Rescue Aquarium

Two anonymous gifts have saved Orange Coast College’s cold-water aquarium from closing--at least for now, college officials announced.

The two gifts, totaling $5,000, were received by the aquarium last week following newspaper reports that the aquarium was in danger of shutting down. One $2,500 donation was given by a corporation while the other $2,500 gift was presented by an individual.

The aquarium’s rescue was its second. In late 1989, it was closed for a year because of a lack of funding.

“We managed to get the aquarium back up and running in the spring of 1991 but we were in severe jeopardy of having to shut things down again this coming spring,” said Dennis Kelly, a marine biology professor at the college in Costa Mesa. “These two donations are very much appreciated.”

To help ensure the aquarium’s financial future, college officials will establish an endowment for the aquarium with the $5,000. According to Kelly, it takes about $3,000 each year to maintain the tanks.

“With the endowment, we’ll be able to support the aquarium on the interest that annually accrues in the account,” Kelly said.

The 1,000-gallon, cold-water aquarium, established two decades ago, features a variety of exotic sea creatures collected from local waters. The aquarium’s six tanks, all maintained by students enrolled in a beginning aquarium class, are visible from the exterior front wall of the college’s Lewis Center for Applied Sciences.

Students enrolled in the beginning aquarium class learn how to set up, operate and stock a large aquarium. They collect marine life from the local waters, handle all feeding responsibilities and regularly clean the tanks. The students also give free aquarium tours and lectures to visiting schoolchildren.

“It’s a student-run project all the way,” Kelly said.

The tanks sustain an abundant variety of sea life. One features a foot-long mantis shrimp, a creature closely resembling a lobster. Two swell sharks, spiny lobster, sea stars and several California sea hares also inhabit the college’s aquarium.