History Main / ExplodingFishTanks

* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' had a guy who died when he fell into his aquarium, shattering it.

* ''Series/{{CSI NY}}'' had a guy who died when he fell into his aquarium, shattering it.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Sing}}'', Buster equips the Moon Theater with a hastily built glass stage and fills it with bioluminescent squids to create a living light display. This becomes his downfall, for when the glass breaks, it floods the theater and [[spoiler:causes the already dilapidated building to colapse.]]

Occasionally PlayedForLaughs in comedies. For the outdoor version, see BigDamPlot.

* When ComicBook/RichardDragon, Bronze Tiger and ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} attack the Circle of Six at a Chinese restaurant in Bludhaven the large prominent fish tank seems like it's going to miraculously survive the fight, until some gangsters looking for retribution against the Circle show up and shoot the place up, blowing the fish tank to bits and ensuring the rest of the fight takes place on a slippery wet floor covered with dead and dying fish.

* Happens with some very large fish tanks when [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Harry Dresden]] gets into a fight with some Denarians at an aquarium in ''Literature/SmallFavor''.
* What did you think in ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' when you put Percy in an aquarium exhibit?

* One episode of ''Series/TheDefenders2017'' has a fight in a Chinese restaurant with a large fish tank. It's destroyed by gunfire almost immediately.

* In a ''Franchise/{{Bionicle}}'' on-line serial, Zaktan and the tank he's in are blown up by a sonic wave. He survives by [[WormThatWalks dispersing the creatures that make up his body into the air]].

* The music video for "21 Guns" by GreenDay has one in it

* This happened to Catherine Weaver's aquarium in ''Series/TheSarahConnorChronicles''. It also revealed that [[spoiler: her pet eel was a liquid metal construct, presumably a part of herself detached and used to keep an eye on her office when she wasn't there.]]

* The video game series, ''TheIncredibleMachine'', includes aquarium objects. With few exceptions, if any moving object (such as a cat or a tennis ball) just touches one, the aquarium will [[MadeOfExplodium explode spectacularly]].

'''Shepard''': "That's a...shame."\\

* ThePunisher once had to deal with a druglord who kept a SharkPool with a big glass wall behind his desk. You have all of three guesses as to how the druglord, the glass and the shark ended up at the end of the story.

* Martin Riggs intentionally shoots the aquarium in the office of Arjen Rudd, Minister of Diplomatic Affairs for the South African Consulate, ''LethalWeapon2''.

* Happens in ''[[RushHour Rush Hour 2]]''.

* This happened to Catherine Weaver's aquarium in ''TheSarahConnorChronicles''. It also revealed that [[spoiler: her pet eel was a liquid metal construct, presumably a part of herself detached and used to keep an eye on her office when she wasn't there.]]

* ''AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'': In The Tale of the Curious Camera, this happens to a fish tank when photographed with the titular camera.

* The intro of ''[[JakAndDaxter Jak X]]'' has Jak crashing through a fishtank with a car.
* The player can do that in the first ''SplinterCell''.

* The comic version occurs in ''TheSimpsons'' episode "Brother from the Same Planet" when Homer and Bart's 'bigger brother' Tom have a brawl in the aquarium. After the tank is shattered, they use the starfish as shuriken.

* Occurs in ''EnslavedOdysseyToTheWest,'' and is actually used as symbolism/foreshadowing.

* Early on in [[{{Illuminatus}} The Illuminatus Trilogy]] an office building gets destroyed along with a whole shop full of rare fish.

* In ''Film/{{Push}}'' the screamers first makes the fish ''inside'' the tanks burst, and then the tanks themselves explode.

* Happens when you destroy ''the entire aquarium'' in ''[[TheSpellcastingSeries Spellcasting 301]]''.

* The destruction of a very large (and thus very expensive) aquarium is the driving force behind the plot of ''DeuceBigalowMaleGigolo'', a rare comedy example.

* In ''{{Push}}'' the screamers first makes the fish ''inside'' the tanks burst, and then the tanks themselves explode.

* Bizarrely ''averted'' in ''{{Gigli}}'': a man is shot in the head with a large enough caliber gun to blow a chunk of brain out the back of his skull-- and the chunk of brain lands in the undamaged fishtank behind him, leading to a [[NauseaFuel lovely]] shot of fish nibbling at the thinkymeat.

(''{{Beat}}'')

-->'''Miranda''': "Shepard, you didn't..."
-->'''Shepard''': "I did. Fell right through the fish tank."
-->'''Miranda:''' "And how did you manage ''that?''"
-->'''Shepard:''' "It... exploded."