When I first got into fishkeeping, my dream was to own a huge, beautiful and incredible aquarium, stocked with a huge variety of fish and plants.
As the years have gone by, I’ve been sidetracked by smaller projects: seahorse-only fishtanks, sharks, pipefish and groupers. Throw them all in together? Not in a million years.
But I still dream about that huge and breathtaking aquarium.
Of course, huge and varied fish tanks don’t come cheap. You need a lot of money, space and time dedicated to maintaining a expansive tank, not to mention stocking it with exotic wonders of the deep.
So now I’ve accepted that my garage is simply not going to see anything like this, I’ve gotten my inspiration from the incredible aquariums on display around the world.
Let’s take a look at the best of them…
10. Aquarium Concepts Home Aquarium
As most of the beautiful fish tanks on our list are found in public aquariums, we thought we’d kick off with one of the most incredible living reef displays we’ve ever seen — from Aquarium Concepts.
Such a masterpiece, we could see this aquarium in a high-end hotel just as easily as we’d like to install it in our own home.
Nothing says ‘centerpiece’ like a huge cylindrical fish tank, right?!
9. Monterey Bay Aquarium
Monterey Bay is truly more of a zoo than a typical aquarium, but as one of our absolute favorites in the United States, we couldn’t not include it.
Some of the animals they’re exhibiting at the moment include the Giant Pacific Octopus, sea otters, penguins, desert tortoises and so much more.
8. Oceanografic Valencia
One of the top tourist attractions in Spain, the Oceanografic Valencia is one of the largest aquariums in the entire world and the largest in Europe.
It’s dedicated itself to faithfully reproducing “the most important marine ecosystems” and has the following habitats on display:
- Oceans
- Antarctic
- Red Sea
- Dolphinarium
- Artic
- Mediterranean
- Temperate and Tropical
- Islands
- Crocodiliary
- Butterflies
7. Dubai Aquarium
The Dubai Aquarium is also known as the ‘underwater zoo’, home to thousands of marine animals and over 140 different species.
Its 10 million liter tank is the largest suspended aquarium in the world
6. Nordsoen Oceanarium
If you’re heading to Denmark, you could do much worse than visiting the breathtaking Nordsoen Oceanarium.
As well as a seal exhibit and various other small aquariums, their main draw is the huge 4.5 million liter tank, which was designed to mimic the habitat of the North Sea with around 3,000 fish inside.
5. Georgia Aquarium
Back in the US, the Georgia Aquarium is another huge public exhibit, which sports multiple 10 million liter saltwater tanks.
Their resident animals include the African penguin, American alligator, Beluga whale, blacktip reef shark, California sea lion, green sea turtle, sandbar shark and zebra shark.
4. Ambassador Lagoon
We’re back in Dubai for our next entry — the incredible Ambassador Lagoon tank at the Atlantis Palm hotel.
These tanks have been constructed to resemble the mythical underwater world of Atlantis — and you’re able to scuba dive around it! It doesn’t get more hands on than this.
Let’s take a look at someone on the trip in action:
3. Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
The Japanese are known for being masters at whatever they turn their hand to, and aquariums are no exception.
The Okinawa Churaumi was once the largest aquarium world and it’s still a wonder to behold. There are four floors of tanks but the main tank — called the Kuroshio Sea — is the most spectacular. It’s home to a variety of marine life, including 80 species of coral, whale sharks and even manta rays.
2. Marine Life Park
Singapore is home to the second largest aquarium in the world — the Marine Life Park on Sentosa Island.
It’s home to over 100,000 animals, comprising over 800 species, in a total of 45 million liters of water. The marine life is split into 10 zones and 49 different habitats with the main event being the enormous Open Ocean Tank — alone, it’s home to 50,000 animals and 18 million liters of water.
1. Chimelong Ocean Kingdom
The number one spot for the world’s best aquariums has to go to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom.
Found in Zhuhai, China, it’s the biggest aquarium in the world right now, with just shy of 50 million liters of water.
It’s truly more of a theme park than just an aquarium, with plenty of roller coasters and themed areas to explore. Some of the most popular include Dolphin Cove, Amazing Amazon, Polar Horizon and Mount Walrus.
Let’s take a look around…
Where do you think are the best aquariums in the world?
