The public aquarium was made at Porto Maravilha, an urban operation that aims to revitalize the Port Zone of Rio de Janeiro.

In the tanks, about 4.5 million liters of salt water are stored, in addition to 8 thousand animals of 350 different species.

The AquaRio visitor can also enjoy the following attractions: the Virtual Aquarium, a digital aquarium with fish created by visitors;[5] the Science Museum, composed of the Plankton Station and the Shell Exhibition; Surf, a space dedicated to the surf elaborated by the surfer Rico de Souza.

As part of its structure, AquaRio has a café, a scientific research center, a parking lot and a souvenir shop, including some kiosks.

On May 31, 2016, the largest solar roof installed in urban areas of Brazil was inaugurated at AquaRio.