Chillquarium is a one man idle aquarium from Ben Reber, released 6 September 2023 and usually priced under six dollars. You buy booster packs of fish, drop them in a tank, and they grow on a wall clock whether the game is running or not. Grown fish either get sold for a lump sum or kept so they pay daily ticket money forever. There are 156 species across six packs, and each one can roll Painted, Golden or Rainbow colour variants behind long odds. Steam sits near 93 percent positive across more than 5,000 reviews, which tells you this is a screensaver you occasionally click rather than a game with a fail state.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Buy both freshwater tank upgrades before your first Rivers and Ponds pack
Buy both freshwater tank upgrades before your first Rivers and Ponds pack. 300 dollars total buys 50 extra slots, and slots are the bottleneck for the whole early game.
2. The game credits growth from the system clock, so quitting and coming back tomorrow is mechanically identical to leaving it running
The game credits growth from the system clock, so quitting and coming back tomorrow is mechanically identical to leaving it running. There is no benefit to keeping it open.
3. Pity counters track fish opened, not packs bought, so opening 500 cheap Freshwater Friends fish moves you toward a guaranteed Golden faster than a handful of expensive pulls
Pity counters track fish opened, not packs bought, so opening 500 cheap Freshwater Friends fish moves you toward a guaranteed Golden faster than a handful of expensive pulls.
4. Sell plain Commons and Rares the moment they hit adult size
Sell plain Commons and Rares the moment they hit adult size. Their daily income is low enough that the slot is worth more than they are.
5. A Painted fish is worth roughly double a plain one and Rainbow roughly 25 times, so a single Rainbow Common can out earn several plain Epics
A Painted fish is worth roughly double a plain one and Rainbow roughly 25 times, so a single Rainbow Common can out earn several plain Epics.
6. The last fish in every pack is guaranteed special, which means abandoning a pack halfway wastes the one pull that was going to be good
The last fish in every pack is guaranteed special, which means abandoning a pack halfway wastes the one pull that was going to be good.
7. Do not buy a saltwater pack before the saltwater tank
Do not buy a saltwater pack before the saltwater tank. The fish need somewhere to live and buying in the wrong order strands your money.
8. Work out how many days of ticket income a pack costs before buying it
Work out how many days of ticket income a pack costs before buying it. Once a pack costs more than a week of income, save instead of gambling.
9. Keep a few slots empty in your churn tank so a good pull always has somewhere to go without forcing a panic sale
Keep a few slots empty in your churn tank so a good pull always has somewhere to go without forcing a panic sale.
10. Species count and variant count are tracked separately on the collection screen, so a duplicate Golden of a species you already own still advances completion
Species count and variant count are tracked separately on the collection screen, so a duplicate Golden of a species you already own still advances completion.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Common (A-Tier):
- Focus on Real time fish growth combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Freshwater Friends pack
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Rare (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Rivers and Ponds pack
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Chillquarium's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Real time fish growth + Booster pack odds: Fish grow against the system clock, not against play time, so a tank left alone overnight is further along than a tank you watched for an hour. Combined with Booster pack odds, six packs gate the entire economy behind money.
Painted, Golden and Rainbow variants + Ticket income versus selling: Colour variants stack on top of rarity. When paired with Ticket income versus selling, every fish is either stock or income.
Tank capacity upgrades scaling: The starter freshwater tank holds 50 fish, upgrades to 80 for 100 dollars and to 100 for 200 dollars. Saltwater tanks are a separate six figure purchase and are the only home for Reef Fellas, Marine Dwellers and Giants fish, so buying the first saltwater tank is the real mid game wall rather than any single pack.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Freshwater Friends pack | First hour of play and later bulk opening when you are hunting Golden and Rainbow variants on a budget | The 10 dollar starter pack and the only one you can afford in the first minutes. |
| Rivers and Ponds pack | The stretch between your first 100 slot tank and saving for saltwater | The second freshwater pack at 1,000 dollars per open. |
| Reef Fellas pack | Kicking off the saltwater economy once tank capacity is already in place | The first saltwater pack at 200,000 dollars. |
| Marine Dwellers pack | Building the income base that funds the Giants pack | A 50 million dollar saltwater pack whose fish carry a much higher base daily income. |
| Giants pack | Endgame players with a compounding daily income who want the final collection entries | The 15 billion dollar top tier pack and the effective end of the money curve. |
Location Efficiency
Starter Freshwater Tank (0 to 1,000 dollars of net worth): The 50 slot tank you begin with. Capacity is the binding limit long before money is, so the two cheap upgrades come before anything else.
Expanded Freshwater Tank (1,000 to 200,000 dollars): 80 slots for 100 dollars and 100 slots for 200 dollars. Both upgrades pay for themselves within a day of ticket income, so there is no reason to delay them.
First Saltwater Tank (200,000 to 50 million dollars): A six figure purchase that gates the top four packs. Sources disagree on the exact price across patches, so check the shop before committing your bank to a pack you cannot store.
Giants Tank (50 million dollars and up): Late saltwater capacity built specifically for the Giants pack. Giant species take noticeably longer to reach adult size, so this tank sits idle for days at a time.
Collection Screen (All stages): The out of tank record of every species and variant you have ever owned. It tracks all 156 species plus their Painted, Golden and Rainbow forms, which is the real completion target.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Filling all 50 starter slots with cheap Commons and then having nowhere to put the first good fish.
- Selling adult fish that were earning strong daily income to fund one more pack, which nets you less money over a week.
- Buying the Reef Fellas pack before owning a saltwater tank.
- Opening packs one at a time, which makes the pity counters feel broken because progress is invisible at that scale.
- Treating this like an active game and sitting on the tank screen. Growth is on a real clock and staring at it changes nothing.
Pro Quick Tips
- Buy both freshwater tank upgrades before your first Rivers and Ponds pack. 300 dollars total buys 50 extra slots, and slots are the bottleneck for the whole early game.
- The game credits growth from the system clock, so quitting and coming back tomorrow is mechanically identical to leaving it running. There is no benefit to keeping it open.
- Pity counters track fish opened, not packs bought, so opening 500 cheap Freshwater Friends fish moves you toward a guaranteed Golden faster than a handful of expensive pulls.
- Start with Rare, switch to Common when ready
- Invest in Freshwater Friends pack above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Starter Freshwater Tank → Expanded Freshwater Tank → First Saltwater Tank → Giants Tank → Collection Screen. See our maps guide
- Real time fish growth + Booster pack odds together are stronger than either alone
More Chillquarium Guides
- Chillquarium Chillquarium Overview
- Chillquarium Best Builds
- Chillquarium Tier List
- Chillquarium Walkthrough
- Chillquarium Beginner's Guide
- Chillquarium Weapons Guide
- Chillquarium Combat Guide
- Chillquarium Boss Guide
- Chillquarium Maps & Locations
- Chillquarium Crafting Guide
- Chillquarium Classes & Characters
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