Discover Dhaka’s new Aquarium Park!

Those who have visited the Bangladesh Air Force Museum in Agargaon, Dhaka, may want to plan another trip. An Aquarium Park has recently opened there. Visitors can explore the colourful world of fish through glass walls, catch and feed the fish by hand—all of which is sure to delight them.

The Aquarium Park was inaugurated on 28 August,. It features a 40-foot artificial mountain waterfall, opportunities to take photographs with exotic birds including macaws, and many other attractions. The park’s director, Tahsin Rahman, and SM Ehsanul Haque took me on a tour of the facilities.

The park has 35 aquariums. Each tank has a sign displaying information about the fish, including their names, habitats and descriptions.

The collection includes crested flowerhorns, crayfish, alligator gar with crocodile-like mouths, fearsome albino sharks, rainbow sharks, Perun sharks and pangasius sharks that resemble pangas fish, among many others.

It felt as though the underwater world of fish seen on National Geographic programmes on television or mobile phone screens had come to life right before my eyes.

What should I mention first—the four-year-old, 12-kilogram black carp that has grown by eating snails, the eight-kilogram grass carp or the two-and-a-half-kilogram tilapia? The park also has a collection of local fish, including snakehead and kholisha.

Leaving the underwater world and moving forward, with a lotus garden on one side, I came across a tunnel. Artificial smoke there changes colour from time to time. Just beyond it, water cascades down an artificial mountain waterfall. Colourful koi and carp swim in the water below. Visitors can also feed the fish there.

After the artificial mountain waterfall, I moved into the kingdom of birds, passing through a curtain of metal chains. The area is home to green-winged macaws, blue-and-gold macaws, lovebirds and a variety of other birds. At the park’s aviary, visitors can see birds of different colours up close and take photographs with them.

Fishing for children

Children aged 12 or under can fish using small nets for Tk 100. They can take home the small fish they catch, which are suitable for keeping in aquariums. Those who wish can also buy an aquarium jar from the park.

Feeding the fish

For a Tk 50 ticket, visitors can feed fish by hand at two designated locations—the large water tank at Lichutala and the bottom of the mountain waterfall, which falls from a height of 40 feet. Visitors are given food resembling mustard seeds in a small container. As soon as they scatter it into the water, the fish swimming around rush towards them in groups.

Taking photographs with birds

Visitors can buy a Tk 250 ticket to take photographs holding a macaw at the aviary. Alternatively, for Tk 300, they can take photographs with a macaw perched on their shoulder in a 360-degree photo booth. If visitors become tired after exploring the entire park, the Aquarium Park Café offers food and refreshments.

Ashraf Siddiqui, the chief executive officer of Aquarium Park, said a variety of fascinating saltwater fish would soon be added to the park. In the tunnel located between the fish gallery and the waterfall, endangered fish preserved using special methods will be displayed in glass jars.

This arrangement has been made because it is not possible to display these fish while they are alive. In addition to the fish, a bird-feeding zone will be introduced, where birds will fly down to eat food directly from visitors’ hands. There will also be special quiz, workshop and learning-session zones for school students.

The park is located inside the Bangladesh Air Force Museum. Therefore, initially, visitors aged over two will have to purchase the museum’s Tk 50 entry ticket. After entering the museum, visitors can walk to the right to reach Aquarium Park.

Visitors aged over two will also need to buy a separate Tk 150 ticket to enter the park. After 27 September, the ticket price will be Tk 200. School students visiting in groups will receive a 50 per cent discount on ticket prices.

The museum is located right next to Agargaon Metro Station, so visitors will need to travel to Agargaon. The park is open from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm from Monday to Thursday, and from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm on Fridays, Saturdays and public holidays. Sunday is the closed.