Why are we only allowed to touch the animals with two fingers? Hundreds of people stop at the touch tanks everyday. If everyone picked up an animal, the touch tank residents would be stressed and possibly injured. If everyone touches the animals gently, with two fingers, the animals stay comfortable and healthy.

We used to be able to take animals out of the water and look at them under microscopes – why can't we do that anymore?
Again, we want to be sure the animals are not injured or stressed by being handled too much.

Why is one tank resting?
On busy days in the summer, more than 1,000 people come through the aquarium. During these times, we allow animals in one tank to rest while the other is open for touching.

Does the horseshoe crab have a stinger?
No, the Horseshoe crab has a tail it uses to flip itself over when it gets turned upside down. This is not a stinger. None of the animals in the Touch Tanks can hurt you.

Are the fish (Tautogs) dead or sick?
No, these fish are slow moving fish that spend much of the day lying on the bottom or hiding around shells and rocks. This is their normal behavior.

Is there anything in the shells?
Yes, there are animals called whelks inside some of the shells. We usually have either knobbed whelks or channeled whelks in the touch tanks. Both whelks are types of ocean snails. Sometimes we have quahogs (a type of clam) and hermit crabs (soft-bodied crabs that live in abandoned snail shells).

Will the spider crabs bite?
No, the spider crabs will not bite. They have very small pinchers, but they can't hurt you with their pinchers.

How do the starfish move?

The sea star, or starfish has hundreds of tube-shaped feet on its underside. Each foot has a muscle that pushes water from inside the starfish down into the tube to make the foot move forward. When this muscle relaxes, the foot stops moving and the next foot in line takes a step. So by moving the feet in order, the starfish walks.

Some sea stars can climb smooth rocks and aquarium walls by using those muscles to pull water out of the tube feet after it takes a step, so the flat bottom of the foot bulges inwards and forms a suction cup. When the muscle relaxes, the suction cup lets go and it takes another step forward and attaches the foot to the wall again.

What is the orange spot on the top of the starfish?
The orange spot is called the madreporite, or "mother pore" (a pore is an opening). The starfish draws in water through the madreporite to regulate the pressure in its legs and tube feet. The madreporite is like a sieve. It filters out particles as it draws in water.

Sometimes the starfish needs to release water from inside its body, too. The madreporite allows water to move both in and out, so the starfish always has just the amount it needs inside its body.

Why are the lobsters blue? And do they taste different?
The blue lobsters are genetic mutations. The shell is the only part that is blue; the meat is not. Blue lobsters taste the same as any otherlobsters.

This FAQ sheet was compiled by the 2003 Woods Hole Science Aquarium summer interns: Kimberly Banks; Elizabeth Condos; Lindsay Flieger; Perry Rushton; Bonnie Serino

Thank-you to the fisheries biologist who provided answers: Antonie Chute