10 Largest Aquariums in the World

The most common size for a home aquarium tank is probably 29 or 30 gallon, though some aquarists have constructed aquariums of many thousands of gallons. Public aquariums can be dramatically larger than any home aquarium. But only a few are big enough to make it to our list of largest aquariums in the world. The kind of aquarium that can hold whale sharks and manta rays. It takes a very large tank to hold these kind of aquatic creatures.


In order to compare these large aquariums we have looked at the size of their biggest tank (in gallons). Most aquariums have several tanks and the combined volume of water can be much larger but it is only the largest aquarium tank that is counted. So here’s a list of the largest aquariums in the world.

10 Aquarium of Western Australia (0,8 million gallons)

 Located in a coastal suburb of Perth, the Aquarium of Western Australia, or AQWA in short, contains Australia’s largest aquarium tank. The aquarium’s main tank is 40 meters (130 ft) long and 20 meters (66 ft) wide and holds 3,000,000 liters (793,000 gallons) of seawater. It incorporates a 98 meter (322 ft) underwater tunnel. For a fee, snorkelers and divers can get even closer to the fish, sharks, and rays by joining the aquarium’s dive master in exploring the main tank.

9 Aquarium of Genoa (< 1 million gallons)

 Built for Expo 92, the Aquarium of Genoa in Italy is one of the largest aquariums in Europe. The aquarium’s 70 tanks reproduce marine and terrestrial habitats from throughout the world and provide a home for more than 6000 animals. Some tanks reproduce natural environments from different areas as the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The most spectacular ones are those housing the sharks, the dolphins and the seals.

8 Shanghai Ocean Aquarium (< 1 million gallons)

The Shanghai Ocean Aquarium is one of the largest aquariums in Asia. It is composed of 9 exhibition zones of all over the world, including the China Zone, the Antarctic Zone and the Australia Zone. The China Zone is home to several endangered Chinese aquatic species, including rare and precious species from the Yangtze River. The biggest attraction of the aquarium is the underwater tunnel. At 155 meter (509 ft) it is the longest underwater tunnel in the world.

7 uShaka Marine World (< 1 million gallons)

The uShaka Marine World is a theme park located in Durban, South Africa. It contains the largest aquarium in Africa boasting 32 tanks. The sea creatures found in the aquarium range from small sea horses all the way through to sharks and dolphins. The Aquarium is built to look like an old wreck and contains a number of restaurants and cafes. The most notable of these restaurants is “The Cargo Hold” restaurant which contains a full wall sized aquarium containing a number of sharks which are visible from most of the dining area.

6 Monterey Bay Aquarium (1,2 million gallons)

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is located on the site of a former sardine cannery on Cannery Row in Monterey, California. Among the aquarium’s numerous exhibits are two gigantic tanks. The centerpiece of the Ocean’s Edge Wing is a 10 meter (33 foot) high 1,3 million liter (0,33 million gallon) tank for viewing California coastal marine life. The other one is a 4,5 million liter (1,2 million gallon) tank in the Outer Bay Wing which features one of the world’s largest single-paned windows. Sealife on exhibit includes stingrays, jellyfish, sea otters, and numerous other native marine species, which can be viewed above and below the waterline.

5Turkuazoo (1,32 million gallons)

Opened in 2009, Turkuazoo is Turkey’s first giant aquarium featuring a rainforest, flooded forest and tropical seas zones. The aquarium is located inside the Forum Istanbul Shopping Mall and contains a 80 meter long underwater tunnel. Turkuazoo holds about 10,000 sea creatures including tiger sharks, giant stingrays and piranhas in 29 different exhibits where the largest holds 5 million liters (1,32 million gallons) of water.