Berlin Hotel’s Huge Aquarium Bursts, With 1,500 Fish Inside

Posted by Quality Marine Staff on December 28, 2022

Berlin Hotel’s Huge Aquarium Bursts, With 1,500 Fish Inside thumbnail image

A tragic event rocked the aquarium industry right before the holidays. Aquariums long have been a prized possession among hobbyists due to their calming nature and beauty. Many educators believe aquariums are beneficial to children because they help teach responsibility and problem solving. They also help calm children and adults as they gaze upon them, which is why you commonly see them in hospitals. The aquarium trade’s hope is that they will also encourage adults and children to want to protect our oceans and all the live creatures within.

Debris outside the Radisson Hotel in central Berlin on Friday. The hotel was evacuated and the authorities were checking for structural damage. Credit...Christoph Soeder/DPA, via Associated Press


When the Radisson’s AquaDom collapsed it not only sent waves of water but it also sent waves throughout the aquarium hobby around the world. We have all been devastated by the loss and destruction of this aquarium. The AquaDom was a 50-foot high, 264,000-gallon cylindrical tank that housed about 1,500 tropical fish. Still at this time it is not known what caused the AquaDom to collapse, however, police do not suspect foul play. Luckily, the tank burst at 5:45am so there were not a significant amount of people in the lobby of the hotel or on the streets outside. Many businesses surrounding the hotel were damaged from the 264,000 gallons of water that escaped the aquarium. The rescue team did their best to save as many fish as possible and the survivors were brought to the local Sea Life Aquarium.

Our thoughts go out to the Radisson Hotel and all that were a part of the rescue team. To learn more about this event please see the NY Times article https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/16/world/europe/germany-aquarium-aquadom.html

Featured photo: The AquaDom aquarium in 2015 in the Radisson atrium. Its makers have described it as the largest cylindrical free-standing aquarium in the world.Credit...Jörg Carstensen/Picture Alliance, via Getty Images