STAR-BULLETIN / APRIL 2007 Fish swim in the giant aquarium at the DFS Galleria in Waikiki. CLICK FOR LARGE

Galleria donated aquarium's animals

Answer: DFS Galleria demolished its 65,000-gallon aquarium at Kalakaua and Royal Hawaiian avenues in April as a part of an ongoing remodeling plan.

Chris Boyles, whose business Trouble Free Corp. maintained animals while they were at the Galleria, gave the animals to Sea Life Park in Waimanalo and the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki, he said.

"It worked out good," Boyles said. "They all ended up with good homes. It's all good."

Mike Callahan, Sea Life Park aquarium and fish collection manager, said an eagle ray and two brown rays from the Galleria are now in the park's reef tank with three other eagle rays and six or seven brown rays. The 18-foot-deep, 240,000-gallon tank has a viewing window for visitors to see underwater, he said.

Another eagle ray, with a 31-inch "wingspan," and two large brown rays are in an outdoor pool, Callahan said.

The Pacific Beach Hotel's 280,000-gallon oceanarium is now home for "some spotted eagle rays and many tropical fish, including lots of yellow tangs, and they've been doing very well," said Rhonda Suka, oceanarium curator and manager.

The oversize aquarium was built in 1979 and features more than 70 species of fish. It can be seen from three of the Pacific Beach Hotel's restaurants.

Hotel staff divers feed the fish several times a day, the hotel says on its Web site.