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Fishblast – Cold Waters – October 2021

Summer has officially ended, and the weather is getting colder. But does that also happen under the sea? I am no aquatic expert, but I do know that during winter the oceanwater feels warmer even than in summer. However the deeper you dive into the waters of the world, the colder it gets. This Fishblast we will be looking into the cold water of Megaquarium. So gear up and dive right in!

Community build

Last month we did have an amazing challenge for you all that celebrated the 3 year anniversary of Megaquarium. However only one could win this challenge. In the end ClaghornTull took the victory with their complete aquarium.



ClaghornTull took the challenge in their hands and decided to create larger areas that displayed animals for each theme we gave them. The modded area was created in a way to represent a museum and that just blew us away! A very spacious and minimalistic concept that really shows off the animals in the build. Congratulations ClaghornTull!

Try and build this!

Often people are looking for challenges. Sometimes having no idea what to create. This short segment will give you some guides to unfold your very own creativity. Are you ready to give it a try?

Try and build this: A dive into the ocean themed aquarium
How to build this:
  • Start with shallow tanks and slowly make them deeper the further your guests go into your aquarium.
  • Use darker paints the deeper the guests go.
  • Do research on what fish live in each layer of the ocean to make them fitting to the place your guests are at.
  • Use a lot of corners to keep your guests surprised to see what is coming next.
  • Large tanks often need seating area for guests to sit down and watch your fish go by.

Goodluck with building!

Mod Spotlight

By now we all know that the community can create insane things that really help your builds to another level. But some mod creators boost this even further. They create expansion packs that hold everything you would ever need in that theme. An example of this is...

[h3]Northern Plunge by Flishster[/h3]



Adding over 30 new freshwater species, new scenery and even a campaign for you to play through!



[Click here to discover this awesome mod]

Fishypedia

[h3]Common Name: Wolf Eel or Wolffish[/h3]
[h3]Scientific Name: Anarhichas lupus [/h3]





Range: Atlantic Ocean
Habitat: Bottom of the ocean floor near rocks and caves
Size: up to 150cm (5ft)
Diet: Molluscs and crustaceans
[h3]Needs in Megaquarium:[/h3]
  • Cold waters
  • Water quality at least 75%
  • Crustacean Eater
  • Feeding Skill: 1
  • Likes Cave: 7
[h3]Fun facts:[/h3]
  • They sometimes get “itchy” skin and can be seen swimming upside down rubbing their backs on rocks to scratch the itch.
  • Wolf eels are very friendly to divers, despite their dangerous looks.
  • Wolf eels are not real eels, they are long skinny fish.
  • Young are brick red with bright orange and purple highlights.
  • Octopus and wolf eels often compete for den space.
How does it work?

In this segment we are looking into the life behind the scenes of machinery or tasks that happen in public aquariums. We might ponder the question: How do UV filters work? Or investigate the breeding progress of a certain species.

For this month’s “How does it work” we will be looking into how a Chiller works in tanks.

In tanks a chiller is used to keep the temperature of the water down to a specific level. In the hobby, chillers are also used to stabilize the temperatures of tropical tanks to prevent overheating and killing the corals active in that tank. But how do they work? They work in a similar way as a refrigerator. Water is pumped through the chiller. All heat is removed via a heat exchanger that pumps out the warm air through a vent in the back. The water is being pumped in via a hose and pumped out through another hose. In small tanks often they must be linked to an external filter, but in big public aquaria the filter is often included in the chilling machine.

Luckily, we do not have to link a chiller to a filter/pump first in Megaquarium. In real life you set a temperature to the machine that you wish to keep your tank at. The bigger your tank is, the larger your chiller has to be as well to keep the temperature down. In Megaquarium we would sometimes have to build a second chiller to keep our fish in a lovely, chilled tank.



Chillers are quite expensive as cooling something down is much harder than heating it up. But considering they help your expensive collections alive; it might just be worth the investment.
Just know that a heater and chiller do fight! They will both try to get their pre-set temperature through the tank and if it differs from the other they might just be turned on at all times and cost a lot of electricity or even defects that could harm your tanks. But even for those issues, there are machines to help control that.

Hope you learned something new on how chillers work. What would you like to learn about in public aquaria next time?

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Want to be more involved in our community? Join our [Discord] and share your works, we love seeing what you created and maybe we will feature your work in the next FishBlast.

See you in the next one!
Your community liaison, Timmiegun

FishBlast - Megaquarium 3 Year Anniversary - September 2021

Happy Birthday to Megaquarium.. Happy Birthday to Megaquarium.. Oh hi! Sorry, I completely forgot this was on record. Welcome back to a brand new Fishblast. I hope you had an amazing summer, I did! But here we are releasing a new read for you all about Megaquarium turning 3 years old on September 13th. Time flies when you are under the water. We have some amazing creations for you all, looking back at the beginning of the game.

Many of you learned about the game only in the last couple of years, but there are a few that have been following the game since before it was even released. We fondly remember the video blogs over on the Twice Circled YouTube channel, showing the game as it was developed. What an amazing run we have had so far, and we are all looking forward to seeing what the creator, Tim Twice Circled, has in store for us next!

Community build

To celebrate this special moment in the life of Megaquarium, we’d like to show you a very special build. User Flash on the Megaquarium Discord was the very first to share their Megaquarium build. So why not celebrate with looking at this special milestone!



Can you tell how much the game changed since? You all became very creative with your builds, and the game evolved a lot since the start.

What was your very first build in Megaquarium? Let us know in the comments!

Mod Spotlight

When the workshop was opened for Megaquarium, the developer Twice Circled released the very first mod, to show us how to make mods! However, shortly after the very first mod on the workshop came from user stlnegril9 They added a brand-new tank for us to house our jellyfish in!



[h3]Rounder Kriesel Tank by stlnegril9[/h3]

Introducing a tall tank that gives all your jellyfish the space to float around!

Click here to discover this unique mod].

Fishypedia

[h3]Common Name: Black Pacu[/h3]
[h3]Scientific Name: Colossoma macropomum[/h3]





Range: The Amazon and Orinoco
Habitat: Rivers
Size: Up to 100 cm (3 feet 5)
Diet: Fruits, seeds, zooplankton
[h3]Needs in Megaquarium:[/h3]
  • Tropical waters
  • Water quality at least 45%
  • PH either Neutral or Acidic
  • Plant Destroyer: 3
  • Likes Plants:: 5
  • Active Swimmer
  • Open Space: 3
  • Greedy
[h3]Fun facts:[/h3]
  • The Black Pacu is also known as the Tambaqui.
  • Pacu and Piranha are very similar, however one eats meat and the other eats plants.
  • Pacu have human-like teeth that are used to crack open nuts to eat.
Special building challenge

On the official Megaquarium Discord, we have a unique building contest going! Honouring the Megaquarium 3 year Anniversary. The challenge is shown below, but for all the information head over to the discord to participate!



We cannot wait to see your creations. Feel free to post them in our discord or upload your images on to the screenshot page for Megaquarium on the steam page!

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Want to be more involved in our community? Join our [Discord] and share your works, we love seeing what you created and maybe we will feature your work in the next FishBlast.

See you in the next one!
Your community liaison, Timmiegun

v2.2.6 patch

The main reason for this patch is the first bullet below. Otherwise it's just a few tweaks and bug fixes that I've come across while working on new content. ;)

[h3]Changelog[/h3]
  • Rolled back Unity version to 2019.4.24f1 as it was causing a crash on some users' systems.
  • Fixed bug: Partitions and walls drop down again when you exit 1st person.
  • Graphics: fbx.alwaysVisible applies in normal mode as well as 1st person.
  • Modding: multisize specs without sound behaviour will not throw exception during load.
  • Added the word 'Paint' to Freshwater Frenzy paints so they follow same naming convention as base game paints.

FishBlast - Summertime - July 2021

Hey and welcome back to a brand new summer edition of the Fishblast! We are going to be looking into some fantastic creations by our modding community and building creations by the designers hidden in our community.

Community build

As summer has arrived for most of us, we wanted to see how you could create something that feels very summer-like but in an aquarium. User 100_pourcent on the Megaquarium Discord did just that with a fantastic build!



By using various paints, tank-types and mods they created a beach-themed aquarium. I will just try to avoid sticking my toes in the floor tanks.



All the small details really make this type of build work. How long did it take you to realize this was made in Megaquarium?



Are you going to try something similar? What do you think? Tell us in the comments.

Mod Spotlight

In the theme of summer, one of the things I instantly think of is: colours! Summer is always lovely, bright and happy colourations everywhere. So what better way to share a mod by using this creation by Irritating Fish! This mod was created for a modding challenge on the discord with the theme: Small Fish.



[h3]Blue - Reef Rainbow by Irritating Fish[/h3]

Introducing 7 colourful fish for any beach-party!
  • Redcoat (Sargocentron rubrum)
  • Dispar Anthias (Pseudanthias dispar)
  • Golden Hamlet (Hypoplectrus gummigutta)
  • Belted Wrasse (Stethojulis balteata)
  • Blue Hamlet (Hypoplectrus gemma)
  • Purple Reeffish (Chromis scotti)
  • Western Gobbleguts (Ostorhinchus rueppellii)

With these fish you too can enjoy a colourful day under the water!

[Click here to release this mod pack into your aquarium].

Bubble-Tea Time

As a new segment for the Fishblast we would like to interview one of our members from the community and learn about their experiences with the game.

Today we will be talking to SaltbrushC a member that has been around for quite a time and has created various mods for the community.

Q: When did you learn about Megaquarium?
A: I watched YouTuber GrayStillPlays’ as they played the game in April 2019 I believe!

Q: What aspect of the game made you buy it?
A: I have always loved fish and other aquatic animals, and the style of the game was just intriguing. I was absolutely thrilled at the idea of putting sea lettuce in a tank. The animals were neat as well but it was the artstyle of the overall game that I initially liked.

Q: What is your favourite thing to do in Megaquarium?
A: Well, if I'm honest, it's modding. Although I do have some ideas for builds that I either am too lazy to make or can't figure out how to make. Sometimes I'm missing something that I want for a build, which causes me to try and add it through a mod.

Q: Is there a species you always use in your buildings?
A: I often include Coral Groupers, Clownfish, and Purple Queen Anthias in reef sections which are usually all I end up actually making. For the freshwater DLC: I love having Giant Hatchetfish and Fan Shrimp.

Q: Do you have any tips or tricks for the community to share?
A: I always use deep wall tanks or other wall tanks and make them really wide, I just like the feeling of gallery-like tanks that are extended along a wall.

Fishypedia

[h3]Common Name: Green Sea Turtle[/h3]
[h3]Scientific Name: Chelonia mydas[/h3]





Range: Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Ocean
Habitat: Near reefs and in water above 10 Degree Celsius
Size: up to 150 cm (5 feet)
Weight: 68–190 kg (150–419 lb)
Diet: Omnivorous (Carnivore as a young, Herbivore as an adult)
[h3]Needs in Megaquarium:[/h3]
  • Tropical waters
  • Water quality at least 55%
  • Armored
  • Likes Plants
  • Green Pellet Eater
  • Active Swimmer
  • Requires Feeding Skill 2
[h3]Fun facts:[/h3]
  • The green turtle is the largest species of hard-shelled turtles, and is the second largest of all sea turtles.
  • Sea turtles lay their eggs in a nest they dig in the sand with their rear flippers. The group of eggs is called a clutch.
  • The temperature of the eggs determines if the turtle becomes a male or female at hatching. Colder incubation temperatures create males, while warmer incubation temperatures create females!
  • Green turtles are named after their green-coloured fat, which they get from their herbivorous diet of seagrass and algae.
Monthly building challenge

Last month we asked you to do an aquascaping challenge and we found an awesome tank for you!
User SwornEnemy79 created this lovely aquascaped tank using the mods we provided for you.



[h3]The theme of next month’s build is: "Open Ocean"[/h3]

If you're struggling for ideas on where to start, why not post in the comments, Steam discussions or pop on the game's [discord] and ask for a helping hand. :)

We can’t wait to see your creations. Feel free to post them in our discord or upload your images on to the screenshot page for Megaquarium.

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Want to be more involved in our community? Join our [discord] and share your works, we love seeing what you created and maybe we will feature your work in the next FishBlast.

Have a great summer!
Your community liaison, Timmiegun

v2.2.5 patch

[h3]Changelog[/h3]
  • Rolled back Steamworks version to previous version as it was causing a crash on some users' systems.