OCC students re-reef aquarium after theft

Stefanie Frith

COSTA MESA -- Nicole Eslinger says Orange Coast College’s live coral

aquarium has never looked better.

After months of working on the 250-gallon tank and replacing coral

that was stolen from it in November, the aquarium is now in “perfect”

condition, and students and faculty are saying a silent thanks to

everyone who donated money and coral.

On November 16, someone stole $1,000 worth of live coral from the

tank, forcing the aquarium science program to cancel its annual open

house fund-raiser and destroying about five years of labor.

The perpetrator of the theft was ever caught, but after articles and

postings on the Internet, 30 new coral were donated, as well as an

undisclosed amount of cash donations. Now students, like Eslinger, who

finished working on the tank in March couldn’t be happier.

“It looks better now than it did before,” said Eslinger, the school’s

aquarium manager. “So many people come by to see it. It’s been surprising

how many donations have come in.”

Aquarium director Dennis Kelly said that with all the donations that

have come in, the aquarium is now worth about $8,000.

“The coral that was stolen was not replaceable and we thought it would

take another five years to get it up and running again,” Kelly said. “It

had taken five years to grow the [original] coral.”

In his 27 years at the college, Kelly said, he never expected anything

like November’s break-in to occur, and therefore, the tank was never

secured. Now, however, there are locks on the aquarium, and Kelly said he

plans to place a sticker on the tank that reads “Smile, you’re on video”

to remind people that vandalism will be recorded.

The added locks have been a bit of hassle.

“It takes a lot longer to open the tank now,” Eslinger said. “We are

always losing the key and have to go around and ask, ‘Who’s got the key?’

But it’s safer now.”

The marine aquarium program recently held its open house for about 500

people and is now in the process of starting a tank for a school of fish.

“This tank is the doorway to the classroom,” said Carrie Carbajal, a

marine aquarium student. “People always stop by. It’s like bringing the

Caribbean home, it’s just beautiful.”