The sturgeon general

Give props to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga - its river exhibits could have been lame, but they went all out, displaying rare fish and amphibians from waterways around the world.

The sturgeons were easily the stars of the exhibits, massive fish patrolling river bottom since the age of dinosaurs (in some cases). The aquarium owns two of the most impressive species, the beluga sturgeon. The pair are actually brothers who avoid the caviar harvest 30-plus years ago.

This aged fellow came from the Volga in Mother Russia. caviar now banned in the U.S. A kilo will cost $5,000 in the U.S. ... That's Black Sea Gold, people. Caspian Cocaine (belugas can live in fresh and seawater).

This aquarium junkie considers the Tennessee best of the three I saw this year (Long Beach's Aquarium of the Pacific and Chicago's Shedd being the other two).

Freshwater fish come with greater diversity than just bass, trout and perch.

And in the saltwater tanks, it's hard to forget a surprisingly riveting seahorse exhibit and the almost supernatural glow cast in the jellyfish chamber.

Plus, as you can see, the aquarium's lone rattler grew especially active when Dad Melville approached the glass, as if it could already taste a meal on the other side.

They can sense fear, and the man's eyes practically teared up with fright.