The Acuario de Valencia (officially Acuario Fundación Seijas) was opened in 1976 and was the first public aquarium in Venezuela. It sits on a leafy block near the Avenida Cedeño and is one of the city's main family destinations, more a small zoological park than a pure aquarium.
The collection covers freshwater and marine species of Venezuela: pink river dolphins from the Orinoco, manatees, caimans, anacondas, a colony of capybaras, and a long row of indoor tanks with reef fish and rays. There are dolphin and sea-lion shows several times a day and a small reptile house. The site is showing its age and the conditions are basic by international standards, but for an introduction to Venezuelan wildlife in a single morning it remains useful.