Crocodile and Prize Aquarium Fish Show at Bangkok's Mall Bangkapi

The 2014 Aquarium Contest and Crocodile Wrestling at the Mall Bangkapi 

On the 6th floor of the Mall Bangkapi in Bangkok, every year they have a competition for the best aquarium design, and several categories of fish, from goldfish to flower-horn fish, manta rays, guppies, and more. On display are more than 1000 aquariums stocked with some of the strangest and most beautiful water creatures I've ever seen. Several side attractions are also available: reptiles, tarantulas, monkeys, birds, and the like.

The best side attraction is the crocodile wrestling.  Here is a short video of the show on October 7, 2014. The opening seconds are blurry, but focus finally comes in.

Over 100 aquarium gardens are entered into a contest, and separately thousands of fish are judged and awarded prizes.  This gold fish was almost 2 feet long (23 inches), and took one of the prizes for best Oanda, judged by shape and color.

Giant Oanda Gold

Flower-horn Cichlid

A dozen manta rays were entered, and over 100 flower-horns (seemingly the most popular fish in Thailand). The Flower-horns are very aggressive, and will try to attack your finder if you touch the glass. Guppies were judged on their color and tail size. A few glowed in the dark - no idea how that was bred into them!  Oddly, there was also a category for barracudas.


There are many other animals to see, touch and handle.  Along with small lemurs, this year featured monkeys, lizards, snakes, hawks, tarantulas, scorpions, giant beetles, and several types of parrots.

The reptiles are especially fun. I got to hold a Burmese python. The vendors are ready to let you hold most of the animals, so your friends can take photos.  A few parrots required a 10 baht donation to their Aviary, in order to hold them. Everything else was free.

I have always loved tarantulas, so I held a few of the more docile spiders on hand.  They would not let anyone hold the 18-inch Goliath bird spider, or any of the more aggressive species; but these were fun to watch.

You can even see giant beetles fighting, as this is popular in Japan now. It's Monster Bug Wars in real life.



You can get a fish massage by dipping your feet into an aquarium, where special fish eat off the dead skin cells on your legs.  The cost is 50 baht ($2) for 10 minutes. It's a creepy feeling, but a healthy experience.

You can also purchase fish, aquariums and supplies.  They have saltwater and freshwater companies with a lot of specialized equipment for sale. You can buy some rare fish, as well. The prices are pretty good, considering the unusual and rare nature of some of the fish.

You can find the Mall Bangkapi in the Bangkapi district (East End Bangkok) on Lad Phrao 144.
The Fish/Aquarium event lasts for 1 week, and only costs 30 baht to get in. The crocodile shows are every 2 hours, and last 30 minutes each. The Mall Bangkapi is always fun, and these events make it worth the extra trip. I had a good evening of fun with friends.