me ♪ ♪ [ cheers and applause ] this is "nightline." >> trevor: tonight, sea quest. the company calling itself the world's fastest-growing aquarium popping up in malls across america. >> please consider bringing an extra $10 or $15 with you to have the full sea quest experience where you can hand-feed and hold and touch. >> trevor: some visitors claim they were injured. >> i saw blood on my shirt. i realized, she really got hurt. >> trevor: some former employees say the company puts profit ahead of animal care. >> it was like a dice roll, what animals got to see the vet. >> trevor: what you need to

know. the abc news investigation uncovering what you might not see in the fish tank. plus "dune: part two." the epic sci-fi film back on the big screen. >> i won't be fighting for him. i'm fighting for my people. >> trevor: picking up where the first left off. >> kind of feel like the movie ends and you really want to see where it goes. >> trevor: it cast of the moment with stars like zendaya stunning on the sand carpet. florence pugh making her "dune" debut. >> you underestimate the power of faith. >> i'm entering my queen era but i've got work to do, so elevated princess. >> trevor: dynamic dinner pricing? one of the nation's largest dinner chains planning to surge price its menu. will other fast food chains follow? mr. clean magic eraser powers through tough messes. so it makes it look like i spent hours cleaning, and you know i didn't. it makes my running shoe look like new! it's amazing.

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>> trevor: good evening and thank you for joining us. i'm trevor ault. tonight, it's a mall experience that's a little extra. sea quest aquariums promising the fun and wonder of getting up close with exotic creatures. but an abc news investigation has uncovered dozens of reports of injuries to visitors and questions about the treatment and care of the animals. here's abc's erielle reshef.

>> is that high enough? whee! >> reporter: for helen tejas -- >> you look like you're in an airplane. >> reporter: nothing is more important than taking her two daughters -- 4-year-old deanna, and 2 1/2-year-old lola -- on new adventures. >> otherwise, we're cooped up in the house. they might be on screens for too long. >> reporter: it's part of the reason why one hot summer day in 2022, helen and her husband decided to take the family to the ridge mar mall in fort worth, texas. >> we saw the big sign for sea quest and i thought, you know, i've never been to an aquarium with the girls, they would love that. a staffmember actually came up to us and said, "you can interact with the animals, you can touch all the animals." >> reporter: at the stingray touch exhibit, the afternoon ended in tears for lowell lashes after she was bitten on her finger by a grouper. >> he was she shrieked. at first i thought, okay, it was a fish bite. it wasn't until i was holding her and she moved her hand that i saw blood on my shirt. and i realized, oh, she really

got hurt. >> reporter: it's a very different experience than the one sea quest advertises. founder and ceo vince covino -- >> hey, sea quest fans. we've noticed a high demand -- >> reporter: promotes the aquarium on social media as a place where you can interact with the animals. >> please consider bringing an extra $10 or $15 with you to really have the full sea quest experience where you can hand feed and hold and touch -- >> reporter: all set in the most unexpected place. these are right in the middle of america's malls? >> right in the middle of america's malls. easy access. shopping, grabbing lunch, and go put your hands on baby animals. they attract parents who want to show a great time to their kids. >> reporter: operating in seven states, they say they're the fastest-growing aquarium in the world. tonight, an abc news investigation uncovering what you might not see in the fish tank. >> this is enough. this is enough. i have to do something about this. >> reporter: several former employees from across the country speaking out. >> the reason i have left was

because of the treatment of the animals. >> reporter: do you feel that the animals equality of life was sacrificed so they could make money? >> absolutely. yeah. >> reporter: some were interviewed by abc's affiliate stations without showing their faces. they say they signed a confidentiality agreement and are worried sea quest will retaliate. >> at any point, did you feel guilty? >> every day. pretty much every day. >> reporter: federal and state agencies citing sea quest over the past eight years for issues ranging from human injuries, potential disease hazards, inadequate care of animals, and in some cases, conditions that led to animal deaths. >> they keep operating when they get fined. this is about profit. >> reporter: in past interviews, the company's founder covino said the majority of guests enjoy their time at sea quest and that he's quick to address any issues that arise with regulators. >> we're committed to cooperating with all the -- all the authorities, as we're doing

currently. we are in full compliance with all of them. >> reporter: sea quest told abc news in a statement that their number one priority is to ensure the health and safety of their animals. they say that they host millions of visitors each year and with hundreds of employees and thousands of animals, injury and animal mortality, though very rare, exist. but critics say sea quest could do better, pointing to how the usda, which is the federal agency that issues licenses for zoos and aquariums, has cited sea quest over 80 times in the past five years. what is the concern with humans interacting with some of these animals? >> wild animals are just that, they're wild. they can hurt people. a lot of times they just want to get away from you. >> reporter: in all, our investigation found at least 76 times people reported being injured by the animals at various sea quest locations since the first one opened in 2016. some even uploading pictures of their alleged injuries on social media pages and review sites,

including this person who posted on yelp that he was attacked by a monitor lizard that was sitting in an open tank with no warning signs. another posting on facebook about how frustrate they had were after their 3-year-old son was hurt at sea quest iguana exhibit. >> you like to do painting? >> reporter: back in texas, helen says she was shocked by what she describes as the staff's reaction to her daughter's injury. >> they offered me a few band-aids. i think i filled out an incident report. it just seemed like -- almost like it was a normal occurrence. >> reporter: concerned about infection, helen eventually took her daughter to the doctor, who prescribed antibiotics. sea quest said that guests and staff injuries are extremely rare, but if one does occur, they was standard protocols in place to address the injury and evaluate the overall safety around the occurrence. >> there should be some information preventively given to the public before they even interact with the animal. >> reporter: at the schwartzman animal medical center in new

york, dr. la toya latny is a senior clinician and specialist in zoo health management. she told us about the safety protocols in place at many large-scale "s and aquariums. >> if someone does get injured, immediate medical care and a plan for how that's laid out. this hospital's available here, there's an urgent care here, this is how far it takes, how long it takes for this. >> reporter: some of sea quest's former employees said that some of the issues at the aquariums came about because of pressure from management to sell interactions. >> just make more for the interactions, we're making money, making money, making money. >> reporter: what kaylin heard about sea quest, it seemed like it could be her dream job. >> i had always wanted to be a zookeeper. it seemed too good to be true. >> reporter: she started in 2021 at a location in woodbridge, new jersey. the longer she worked, the more concerned she became, providing us with photos she and other employees took of animals that looked sick or injured. she said many did not receive

proper veterinary care. >> it was like a dice roll, what animals got to see the vet. >> reporter: sea quest said many of their animals are rescues with the woodbridge location acquiring many that were in poor health, that they worked diligently to rescue, but several were too unhealthy to save. they said the vast majority of deaths are from natural causes and that each location has dedicated veterinary team members who do walk-thrus of all exhibits and enclosures. >> the people in management were the ones who were super out for money. >> reporter: 1,200 miles away in minnesota, our affiliate obtained a series of internal messages sent between employees there last april through june discussing the otter exhibit and whether they had been properly vaccinated for rabies. >> rabies vaccinations are nonnegotiable. period. if an animal has rabies and they're exposed to the public, that is a situation where a person could die. >> reporter: as seen in promotional videos, a top attraction at sea quest is feeding the otters. according to the internal

messages, a veterinary flags last april to the director that the otters are past due for rabies since january and cannot be on interaction until they are up to date. the director asks if they can continue the interaction because the plexiglass makes a bite nearly impossible. the vet says no. two months later, in june, the vet warns that she learned the interactions had been occurring while the otters were supposed to be in quarantine following their vaccination. directly in violation of the animal welfare act. sea quest disputes this, telling abc news that there was no direct public interactions with the otters during this time. >> i've heard p.e.t.a. call me the codfather -- >> reporter: covino has not shied away from pointing out sea quest's success, including in this video he posted on his website where he advises entrepreneurs on how to start a small business. >> profit margin is the bottom line. literally, it's the bottom line. how much money am i making? >> reporter: in his tiktok

videos, we get a glimpse of his success. >> can i ask what car you have? >> mclaren 570-s. >> reporter: he's reminded employees on threat of termination not to speak about the business. our minneapolis reporter acquired this internal video. it was sent to sea quest employees in roseville after a power outage caused a fish to die. covino says it was due to sabotage, but the company says they didn't file a police report. >> we don't talk about these things outside of the team. apparently that happened this morning. it's very important, it's very sensitive. could lead to terminations. >> reporter: in new jersey, kaylin was eventually fired from her job at sea quest. she admits she made mistakes, receiving five write-ups for various incidents, including leaving an iguana's enclosure open at closing time. but she believes her mistakes are not why she was terminated. did you ever sound the alarm with your colleagues, with your bosses, that you felt like these animals were not getting the treatment they deserved? >> oh, yeah.

oh, yeah, i did. they did not like me for that. >> what would you say to people who may hear your story and say, she's just a disgruntled ex-employee? >> i didn't start working on fighting against sea quest because i got fired. it took a few animals, like, dying off that i cared about, for me to be like, okay, this is enough. it had nothing to do with me getting fired. >> reporter: sea quest says that kaylin was terminated due to subpar performance and lack of safety adherence, and they say they have no record or recollection of kaylin raising any concerns while she worked there. back in texas, helen and her family hope that their experience serves as a warning to other families. >> i would not recommend going and giving my money to this place. >> trevor: our thanks to erielle. when we return, timothee chalamet and florence pugh talk sand, sci-fi, and worm-riding in

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>> what was it like working at the desert? >> you have to stop gawking at the amazing scenery and be present to the momentous story. a dream come true to go to the locations and bring purpose there. bringing life to the story people have loved for decades now, hopefully doing it justice. >> reporter: actor timothee chalamet back on the big screen in "dune: part two." >> nothing's clear. >> reporter: reprising his role as mythic theory paul atrides in the sci-fi sequel fans have been waiting for. joining the franchise this about-around, actress florence pugh. what was it like entering the world of "dun"? >> oh my god, amazing. i literally fell in love with the movie, as the world did. >> you've been preparing me my whole life. >> in some sense i kind of had the best of both worlds. goitd to watch the first one. i got to see the worldwide phenomenon for it. being on those sets, you can't quite describe walking amongst that much talent and that much creativity bursting at the seams

from both crew and cast. it really does make you just soak every single second in. it was really, really special. >> reporter: the all-star cast, from florence to timothee to zendaya have been turning heads. staying true to the movie's desert themes on sand carpets. on the silver screen, the film picks up right where the first "dune" left off. >> you are not prepared for what is to come. >> reporter: what was it like to jump right back in? >> like a dream. you feel like the movie ends and your thought was interrupted. you really want to see where it goes. >> reporter: this time around -- >> i'd very much like to be equal to you. >> reporter: tip may though's character dives head 95 first into his romance with chani, played by zendaya. >> i will love you as long as i breathe. >> reporter: and nonstop action.

can we talk about the worm riding? >> yes, yes. >> that is so cool. >> one of my favorite parts of the movie. >> how much training did it take? >> it was a violent rig with wind and sand that would blast my face with an industrial fan. and it gave the impression that you're riding on a worm far off in the desert 8,000 years in the future. >> which you both did really cooley. >> really? >> very cool. >> may thy knife chip and shatter. >> reporter: he gives it his all in some brutal fight scenes. did you get injured at all? >> some days we left bruised and battered. >> it was so intense and fast-paced and just brilliant. >> reporter: florence plays newcome tore the "dune" universe, princess erulon. >> the prophet. the one who points the way.

>> reporter: the headstrong daughter of the emperor played by christopher walken. >> you'll only end up humiliating yourself. >> you underestimate -- >> you underestimate the power of faith. like i'm entering my queendom era but work to do, so elevated princess. no, i'm not cool enough for that. see, that's what comes with queendom. >> having not been in the first "dune," getting thrown in, what was it like? >> i would spend most of my time with christopher walken, which was a lifetime win. and then towards the end i got to be with this gang. so i kind of got all of the great bits. >> reporter: you got to wear some amazing costumes. you look fabulous. >> i did know coming into it -- i mean, the costumes were one of my favorite things in the first movie. so i knew being princess, emperor's daughter, i'd probably have some pretty wicked outfits that i would never even have

thought she'd be wearing. and that added so much context and layering to my character that i wasn't even quarter of. >> reporter: the film a departure from florence's anguish performance in "oppenheimer." >> i told you, no more flowers. >> i don't understand what you want from me. >> i don't want anything from you. >> reporter: tip may though's recent turn in "wonka." >> my name is willy wonka. you see, i'm something of a magician. prepare to be amazed. >> reporter: this isn't the first time tip may though and florence have worked together. they both starred in 2019's "little women." >> what are you doing? >> looking at you. >> i mean, what do you intend to do? >> reporter: what was it like to be together again on "dune"? >> it's obviously wonderful to be back with him. it felt like such a privilege to be able to -- when i walked on that set, to be able to watch my friend really lead and really kind of grow and rise to the occasion of what this movie means. >> it's just amazing, you know. florence was so kind there. just seeing how her work and

career has exploded. how she's carried herself the exact same way. what an awesome human being she is. >> reporter: friends off-screen, hoping to make blockbuster gold on-screen together again. >> trevor: our thanks to maggie. "dune: part two" opens friday. when we come back, howre y baconater. symptoms define me... emerge as you. with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 4 months... ...and the majority stayed clearer, at 5 years. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge as you. emerge tremfyant®. ask you doctor about tremfya®. (chef vo) fancy feast. chef-inspired. cat-adored.

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menu. >> how much would it cost? >> trevor: depends what time you're asking. wendy's says starting next year, menu prices will vary during the busiest parts of the day, so-called dynamic pricing used for years by airlines and rideshare companies. now it's coming to a drive-thru year you, likely to bump up the price of that about the same conator combo during lunch or dinnertimes. "surge pricing is price gouging by any other name." experts say if the move boosts wendy's bottom line, other fast food giants will likely follow. that's "nightline." you can watch all our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here at the same time rrmo. thanks for staying up with us. good night, amer