Â鶹´«Ã½

For some people, feeding a crowd is a holiday ritual, but at the Tennessee Aquarium, animal caretakers raid the pantry to feed the furry, scaly and feathered masses year-round.

From high-quality seafood and fresh produce to thousands upon thousands of insects, animal care specialists prepare species-specific meals tailored to meet the dietary needs of hundreds of species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and more.

With more than 12,000 animals in the Aquarium’s care, there are a lot of hungry mouths to feed.

Here are some noteworthy selections from the Aquarium’s food budget in 2024:

• 120 pounds of peas
• 3,072 ounces of frozen ocean plankton
• 2,304 ounces of bloodworms
• 15,000 mice
• 8,352 heads of romaine lettuce
• 900,000 crickets
• 1,500 pounds of scallops
• 60 pounds of blueberries
• 3,000 nightcrawlers
• 7,128 pounds of smelt
• 156,000 mealworms
• 198 pounds of zucchini
• 1,161 apples
• 2,217 oranges
• 12,566 pounds of capelin (a small cold-water fish)
• 260 pounds of fish pellets
• 665 pounds of carrots
• 1,692 pounds of krill

To help with the Aquarium’s food costs, last year, horticulturists began growing a selection of fruits and vegetables in-house, raising high-quality, organic produce to supplement the diets of animals such as Red-ruffed Lemurs, Desert Tortoises and Amazonian Pacu.