Monday at 5pm a baby coral catshark was hatching from its egg case. It's now hanging out in its own protected "tank," which is a clear plastic box with holes in it. It's hiding out under a rock.

The other two baby coral catsharks born in November are doing well, too. The oldest is a girl; the other is a boy (claspers on the sides of its body).

Our giant carpet anemone had a large tear in its foot and passed away last weekend. We'll have another replacement soon as the clownfish that live in the tank need a new home!

Kids who came for a Surf n' Turf school program caught a cowfish the other day. It's currently in quarantine and will be placed into its new habitat soon.

One of our blue spiny lobsters, sometimes called "painted lobsters," molted the other night.

Butch Ringelspaugh, our curator of exhibits, recently changed the plants in the Gulf pipefish tank. (We now have three of them). The pipefish turned a greenish color to blend in better with the plants.

Our first floor big "tube" tank has 25 more fish. They are chromis, a beautiful schooling reef fish, and are a dynamic (if not moving!) addition to that exhibit.

We have two (new) blue spotted grouper! The larger one, about six inches long, will be in the Pacific exhibit.

Lastly. we had an awesome Spa Beach Splash and Kite Festival March 14. Two-hundred-forty-seven free kites were given away and some of the kids learned the science behind kite flying and successfully flew their kites. New critters caught by the kids were added to our big touch tank! They included sea stars, lightning whelks, scallops, big hermit crabs and horse conch.

We thank these folks who helped us put on our family marine discovery day: the Southwest Florida Water Management District, 4H/Mote Marine Lab, Keep Pinellas Beautiful, Nature's Academy, Pinellas County Extension - Florida Yards and Neighborhoods, Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, Suncoast Sierra Club, Tampa Bay Watch, Team Quad FX stunt kite flyers group and the Pinellas County Cultural Affairs Department and Stages theater group.

Also thanks to door prize providers: D & D Distributing, Geckoz, Mistco, the Reno Beach Surf Shop and the Weekly Burg Blast, Wild Republic and Windworks.

Thanks to our Pier Food Court friends who offered discounted kids' meals: Burger Bay, Hong Kong Corner and Cones on the Pier.

And grateful appreciation to our corporate sponsors - Southwest Florida Water Management District, Pinellas County Cultural Affairs, the City of St. Petersburg, the Pier and Media Sponsor St. Petersburg Times - and  the volunteers who worked hard and made it fun for all of us!