Sunfish on Display

Ocean sunfish, Mola mola (Linnaeus 1758), is a relatively uncommon display species in public aquariums due to numerous husbandry challenges. A handful of facilities, however, have been able to bring these iconic fish to the broader public. This chapter outlines step-by-step measures for keeping sunfish healthy in aquarium exhibits, highlighting established collection and transportation strategies, various treatment protocols, and the importance of target training to provide specialized food items. By implementing safe handling techniques, improving management strategies and aligning diet design with emerging data on natural dietary shifts, aquarists are learning how to successfully sustain sunfish within enclosures. Partnerships between aquarists and research biologists studying wild sunfish are helping to increase our understanding of sunfish biology while providing aquariums the opportunity to better educate the public on sunfish life history and the functions they serve in the vast oceanic food web.