Scuba divers plunged into tanks to count and measure creatures living at London’s famous South Bank aquarium.
Aquarists armed with wetsuits and calculators counted over 6,000 animals and marine species at SEA LIFE London Aquarium earlier this month.
The humans got up close and personal with creatures great and small – from a three-metre-long Sand Tiger Shark to three-millimetre-long coral polyps.
Catherine Pritchard, General Manager at the aquarium, said: “Count and Clean is one of our favourite and most important activities at SEA LIFE London Aquarium, as it’s a chance to take stock of all our new arrivals over the past year.
“Whilst our Aquarists have lots of fun counting all the amazing creatures in our collection, we also use this time to perform an early spring clean to help us maintain the health and well-being of our creatures and ensure our tanks are in pristine condition to enable guests to get a good look at their favourite species.”
Divers looked in on Green Sea turtles Boris and Dougie who weigh more than 100kg.
New arrival Daley, a Gentoo penguin who was hatched in the attraction and named after Olympic diver Tom Daley, also received a visit.
The annual event allows SEA LIFE London Aquarium to take part in international breeding programmes, alongside SEA LIFE centres around the world.
The aquarium is also home to Ocean Invaders, the largest collection of jellyfish displays in the UK.