AQUARIUM GETS INTO HOT WATER.

Byline: Brett Pauly Daily News Staff Writer

The jellies are sweet, the octopuses are giving eight thumbs up and the Miracle-Gro has revitalized the kelp. All is well again at the Monterey Bay Aquarium . . . at least for the time being.

Even the crown jewel of underwater zoos has been susceptible to El Nino's scorn.

``We're a living extension of the bay. Whatever is happening to the bay is happening to the aquarium,'' said spokesman Ken Peterson.

As one of a handful of aquariums that fills its displays directly from the sea, the trailblazing shoreline facility has had trouble keeping its cold-water residents in good spirits during the ocean-warming trend.

In recent weeks, water temperatures had risen to 67, some 14 degrees above normal. While the problems were hardly noticeable to visitors, aquarium goers were attuned to the sense of urgency among the staff. ``Yeah, it's a problem,'' personnel would report. ``It may get worse before it gets better. We're doing all we can.''

So raw is the study of the ocean phenomenon, scientists aren't sure if what the Central Coast is experiencing is indeed El Nino or some other coincidental warm-water anomaly.

Aquarium officials are unfazed by the details. ``It doesn't matter to us,'' said Joe Choromanski, curator of husbandry operations. ``We have to adjust to whatever Mother Nature gives us.''

Especially hard hit are the jellyfish and octopuses. In nature, the eight-armed denizens could simply retreat to deeper, cooler waters. Not so in these confines; the sensitive mollusks must rely on aid from automated water chillers.

Most of the repository's finned inhabitants have dealt with the heat better; fish are more resilient and can withstand a wider range of temperatures. Their metabolic systems, however, are taxed and they exert more energy, so caretakers are stocking their tanks with a bit more fish food.

Also hurt by the protein-poor water is the renowned Kelp Forest. Aquarists took a page from the horticulturists' book and began spraying the three-story-high tapestry of verdant vines with Miracle-Gro several times a week to replenish the nutrients lost to El Nino's inflows.

The plan appears to be working. The jellies and the octopuses have recovered. ``The kelp still looks kind of ratty,'' Peterson said, but the plants are expected to rebound with continued sprayings.

The aquarium isn't out of the, uh . . . kelp, yet. Pundits anticipate the warming occurrence could last well into next year, meaning curators will have to carefully monitor the enclosures for months to come. Concerns will soar if aquarium temperatures hit 72 degrees or higher for lengthy periods.

The 13-year-old facility does have the capacity to shut down the ocean-intake system and rely on re-circulated water. The measure was designed as a safeguard against oil spills and algae blooms. However, supervisors are uncertain how long such a procedure would be effective in keeping the water free of the fishes' waste.

At the aquarium, as in nature, there is a balance to come out of all of this, Peterson said.

The 1.3 million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit, home to yellowfin and skipjack tuna, bonito, barracuda and other pelagic fishes, has benefited by the warm water. The tank hasn't had to be heated, as it normally must be to keep the open-ocean species happy.

So happy are the bonito and barracuda, they are spawning - thought to be a first in captivity.

Staff biologists are uncertain if the fish would have bore young anyway, but the aquarists are harvesting and rearing the offspring just the same.

Administrators are pleased, too. ``We've certainly saved money on the heating, but heating water is always harder to do than chilling water,'' Choromanski said. ``It's probably a push.''

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Photo

Photo: (color) Octopuses (pictured) and jellyfish aren't adept at coping with warm water.

Courtesy, Monterey Bay Aquarium