Spanning 1,300 square metres, the Aquarium Hall at the Berlin-Friedrichshagen site contains nine modern freshwater recirculation systems for keeping and farming fish, as well as several aquarium rooms and measuring rooms.

For example, sturgeons can be found swimming in the large basins. In Germany, IGB coordinates reintroduction projects for the European sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) and the Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus). Parent European sturgeons live in Gironde, the estuary where the rivers Garonne and Dordogne meet on the west coast of France. The intention is for their future offspring to repopulate the tributaries leading into the North Sea. In contrast, Atlantic sturgeons (Acipenser oxyrinchus) are being introduced to the River Oder and its tributaries; it is hoped that they will settle in the Baltic Sea.

Both projects are an important part of the European Biodiversity Strategy. We also use the Aquarium Hall to explore fish behaviour and to test measures to promote more sustainable aquaculture.

In addition, we have in our own aquarium hall different selection lines of zebrafish, which are ready for carrying out experiments (e.g. Uusi-Heikkilä et al. 2015).