Overview
This guide will describe Adventure Mode and its perks, along with Time Trial Mode. I will not go over Challenge Mode, for there is already a guide for that. I will provide general tips for each tank, and things to look out for in particular levels.
Adventure Mode Tank 1
Ready to start your adventure? Well, why did you buy this game? Come on, start the insanity!
Your mainstay of your aquarium is the guppy. Feed them with fish food or they die. They grow in stages, from small, medium, large, to crown. Medium, large, and crown guppies poop silver coins (worth $15), gold coins (worth $35), and diamonds (worth $200), respectively. Later on, you can improve the food quality, which keeps them fuller and grows them more quickly. Improve your food quantity and you can feed more guppies than you could before.
A carnivore chasing a guppy.
Buy carnivores to eat small guppies in order to control your guppy population; these guys poop diamonds ($200 each), so they’ll help your pocketbook, too. Improve your weapon to improve the strength of your blaster for defeating aliens that try to eat your fish. Collect egg pieces to complete the level; there are three of them, and as you progress through each tank, the more expensive each piece gets.
There isn’t much else to explain for adventure mode tank 1, so go at it!
Adventure Mode Tank 2
You can also buy starcatchers. These guys don’t eat your guppies. Instead, they eat stars that your star guppies poop. Remember from tank 1 that carnivores help you progress through levels very quickly? Well, same here for starcatchers, but keep enough star guppies to feed them! You don’t want them to die on you, do you?
A starcatcher feeding.
There are particular levels where things get interesting. In level 2-3, an alien (signature type G) that nullifies lasers appears; you’ll have to find out how to defeat him (simply just click to find out what he’s weak to). Level 2-4 introduces another alien (signature type D), which doesn’t eat your fish but instead fires missiles towards your fish. Alien signature type D is vulnerable to lasers, so this might be a clue as to how to fend off those missiles.
I don’t think you needed this or my advice for Tank 1, but hey, whatever helps you get started.
Adventure Mode Tank 3
Tank 3 introduces another creature called beetlemunchers. These guys eat beetles that guppycrunchers release. They poop pearls (worth $500). They are key to finishing Tank 3 levels.
A beetlemuncher about to consume a beetle.
Levels 3-3 and 3-4 introduce two more aliens to the mix. Level 3-3 showcases alien signature type P, a squid (not an octopus). What’s different about this alien is that it can turn blue. What does turning blue have to do with anything? Everything. Shooting the alien while it is blue heals it, so only shoot it to keep it away from your fish while it is blue. You know what to do when this alien turns red, right?
A playthrough screenshot showing alien signature type P in attack mode.
A playthrough screenshot showing alien signature type P in recovery mode.
One of my playthroughs in level 3-3. If you have trouble with level 3-3, check this video out.
Level 3-4 introduces alien signature type U. This cyclops alien shoots energy balls that are initially not charged; shoot the balls and they become charged. Deflect them away from your fish or you will kill a whole line of your fish; you should know where to send the energy balls.
One of my playthroughs in level 3-4. Is alien signature type U killing a lot of your fish? View this video to see how I handle him.
Tank 3 is much more challenging than Tank 2. You need to balance beetlemunchers with guppycrunchers, and you need to lure small guppies to feed your guppycrunchers while handling difficult aliens.
Adventure Mode Tank 4
Tank 4. Notice that this tank’s music is the same as the Title music? Well, you know things are about to get tough here.
You start out with a single breeder and not two guppies.
As before, carnivores poop diamonds. But if you don’t have enough breeders (which produce guppies), your carnivores will die off. There can be only so many carnivores before your tank becomes unsustainable. Starting in level 4-2, you can buy ultravores. They eat carnivores, so they’ll keep your carnivore population in check. As a bonus, they poop treasure chests (worth $2000). Ultravores are key to winning the levels in this tank, so keep them safe and you won’t regret having them.
These levels are full with hazards. Level 4-2 introduces a particularly nasty alien that has two heads. This alien, signature type II, can kill your fish with either of its heads or with its body; don’t ask me how this alien can do so. You defeat one head, then you defeat the other. Just be careful not the kill your fish in the process.
Alien signature type II appears in levels 4-2 through 4-5. You must defeat it head by head, and unfortunately one will be invincible if the other is intact. A hint: the lead head is the vulnerable head.
Alien signature type II is a persistent threat that will strike at you at several points throughout Tank 4. Keep your most valuable fish safe while navigating treacherous waters.
Plenty of other aliens come to kill your fish, and they arrive in combos. Alien signature type P along with a partner come in to eat your fish, so you need to pay attention to both of them. Alien signature types D and U team up to destroy your fish, so watch those projectiles! And don’t forget that alien signature type G will harass you in level 4-3, and this alien will cause trouble early on and in the late stages of this level.
This alien is back! And he might make a snack out of your ultravores!
Here are videos of levels 4-2, 4-3, and 4-5. Watch them if you need help figuring out how to complete these levels.
You’ll start to see alien signature type II a lot in Tank 4.
Aliens are not playing around. Keep your trigger finger on!
Aliens are out to kill your fish. And the egg pieces are crazy expensive. But hey, it is the last level of Adventure Mode. Except it isn’t.
Keep this information in mind and you should have smooth sailing. Once you finished level 4-5, you’ve completed Adventure Mode! Except not. See the “Secret” section for details.
This is a Secret (Spoilers)
What? You though completing Tank 4 would mean completing Adventure Mode? How dare I lie to you!
Welcome to Tank 5, where 18 of your pets happen to be here. Cyrax commands the aliens to eat or destroy your fish, and in this tank, he plots to kill your pets. Aliens of all signatures will arrive to harass you, and Cyrax himself will spawn mini-Sylvesters (oh wait, I forgot to tell you that the blue alien that you first meet is Sylvester. Whoopsie. You can find more information about them by completing Challenge Mode). Keep an eye on all of the aliens and your pets should be fine. Whittle Cyrax’s health little by little until you defeat him.
Sylvester is back and ready to eat pets! Watch out for combos of aliens! And don’t ask me why you have $200.
Once you defeated Cyrax, click on the egg. You deserve to complete Adventure Mode.Want to see how I did? Here’s a sample of what I did.
Credits roll, and now you have access to Bonus Adventure. You can play through Adventure Mode again to earn shells per level, so that you can buy bonus pets and items for your virtual tank. You also unlock Time Trial Tank 4 (you unlock Time Trial Tanks 1, 2, and 3 after completing their corresponding tanks in Adventure Mode) and Challenge Mode.
Continue the insanity, my fellow aquarium keeper!
Time Trial Mode
This mode is similar to Adventure Mode… except you can choose which tank to play! You don’t need to go through the whole Adventure again if you don’t want to! What’s different about this mode is that you don’t collect egg pieces to win the level. Under a time limit, you will try to get as much money as you can. Aliens will still fight you, so it is your decision to buy which upgrades as you struggle under time constraints. Of special note is that you can buy eggs to gain extra pets that will help you in your money making venture! Just keep in mind that for each random pet you get, the more expensive the next random pet will be, so don’t break your pocketbook!
In this mode, you don’t have time to raise crown guppies. What does this mean? You are obligated to purchase carnivores, starcatchers, guppycrunchers, beetlemunchers, and ultravores so that you can gain as much money as possible! The last thing you need is to have a broken mouse or a sore pointer finger, so heed me, or you will regret it.
Tank 1 will only give you five minutes, so get out those carnivores as soon as you can sustain them and collect those diamonds!
Tanks 2, 3, and 4 give you ten minutes, so spend that time preparing your money machine so that you can gather money to break your own records. Also, you gain shells based on the amount of money earned, so keep that in mind.
Here’s to hoping you enjoy both Adventure Mode and Time Trial Mode. This game should be worth $5 (or less) from the Steam Store that you paid for it. Happy fish keeping!