Polynesian Reef was a massive, colorful undertaking

Kenny Alexopoulos holds the titles of chief operating officer and resident “coral artist” at the Oklahoma Aquarium.

With approximately 75 species of underwater creatures, the Oklahoma Aquarium’s Polynesian Reef exhibit showcases the wonders that inhabit this area of the southern Pacific Ocean. “It’s a pretty accurate portrayal of the Polynesian Reef,” says Kenny Alexopoulos, the aquarium’s chief operating officer. “These fish act normal in here, like they would in the reef.”

The exhibit, which opened in September, is intended to educate visitors on aquatic life and behaviors among the different fish, as well as to bring more traffic to the aquarium with newer and improved visual effects and rare fish.

It will eventually feature 500 fish, including the humphead wrasse, an endangered species native to Polynesia and Australia. This $9,000 fish will likely grow to 200 pounds in the exhibit.

“They’re beautiful, and they’re very intelligent,” Alexopoulos says. “They will begin to recognize divers and grow comfortable with them to the point where they will swim right up to them and let the divers touch or pet them.”

Kenny the coral king

Kenny Alexopoulos holds the titles of chief operating officer and resident “coral artist” at the Oklahoma Aquarium.

Open since Sept. 22, the 65,000- gallon Polynesian Reef exhibit took roughly 14 months to construct. Some fish species will destroy real coral or eat it, so Alexopoulos and his team created and assembled faux coral to form a comfortable new home for the exhibit’s fish.

The process to create coral starts with pouring polyurethane into molds taken from real coral skeletons. Before assembling the exhibit, Alexopoulos made a clay model. Once the faux coral was complete, he and his team created the exhibit’s faux rock with concrete, and the faux coral was painted and attached to this rockwork.

An “infinity back” was created for aesthetics by painting the tank blue and then illuminating it with blue submerged lights. Various water pumps create water agitation and current. “That’s what the fish really enjoy. It’s natural to their habitat,” Alexopoulos explains.

From the schooling orbital batfish to the territorial damsels, visitors can now watch them behave as they would in the true Polynesian Reef.