Quick answer: To photograph the TOEM 2 aquarium mollusc, enter the first room on the right in the Deltburg aquarium and aim your camera at the shell in the first tank. Use the camera's focus feature on the shell to make the mollusc emerge, then take its photo while it is out.
Players also call it Mollusc?, the aquarium mollusk, or the shell critter.
Quick facts
- Region: Deltburg, inside the aquarium.
- Room: The first room on the right after the entrance.
- Tank: The first tank in that room, the one with a shell in it.
- Trigger: The camera's focus feature on the shell. Staring or hiding does nothing.
- Reward: A new entry in your critter compendium.
Make the mollusc come out
Enter the aquarium in Deltburg
The aquarium is one of the big indoor areas of Deltburg. Walk in through the main entrance; the tank right at the entrance holds the Pilcis, which is a quick compendium photo on the way in.
Take the first door on the right
From the entrance hall, go into the first room on the right. This room has several tanks, including one at the top of the stairs and one in the top-right corner. The mollusc lives in the first tank you reach, not the ones further in.
Aim at the shell and focus
Raise your camera, point it at the shell in that first tank and use the focus feature. The small sign next to the tank says the mollusc occasionally pops its head out for those who "FOCUS" on it — that is the whole trick.
Photograph it while it is out
Once the mollusc shows itself, take the picture straight away. The photo is registered in your critter compendium, the same way every other critter in TOEM 2 is logged.
Why the focus feature is the answer
Focusing is one of the camera's core tools in TOEM 2, and several hidden things only appear when you focus on the exact spot that hides them. Knowing this pattern makes the mollusc, and a few other puzzles, much easier:
- Missing Cat (Cropten): the farmer's cat only shows up when you focus on the small flower in a flower pot.
- Invisible Mayhaps (Taletorp): the invisible man becomes visible through the camera when you focus on him.
- Bookworm (Deltburg): this critter appears when you focus on the bookshelf outside the library.
- Head in the Clouds (Cropten): focusing on the cloud directly above you makes it change shape.
- Experience Toem (Whirlhill): the final quest asks you to focus on the tree's single leaf.
If a spot shows that something is there but nothing appears in the photo, switch from "look through the camera" to "focus on the object". Waiting in front of the tank without focusing does not work — the player who reported the problem on Steam had tried hiding and staring at the tank before finding the focus hint.
The mollusc is easy to miss because the room has several tanks. If nothing happens, check that you are on the first tank in the first room on the right, that your camera is aimed at the shell itself, and that you are using focus rather than just zooming. Players who skipped the small sign next to the tank were the ones who got stuck.
Other critters in the aquarium
The aquarium is one of the densest compendium spots in Deltburg, so it is worth clearing every tank while you are here. TOEM 2 has 68 critters in total, and photographing all of them unlocks the Collect Them All achievement.
| Critter | Where in the aquarium | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Pilcis | Tank in the entrance | Visible right away |
| Mollusc | First room on the right, first tank | Focus on the shell |
| Snotty Salmon | First room on the right, tank at the top of the stairs | Same room as the mollusc |
| Seahorse | First room on the right, tank in the top-right corner | Same room as the mollusc |
| Penguin | Top-right corner of the room past the Snotty Salmon | Walk through to the next room |
| Flying Fish | Tank in the room with penguins | — |
| Sea Bunny | Tank in the room with penguins | — |
| Tato Eel | Tank in the room with penguins | Wait for it to poke out of a plant |
| Sunfish | Tank in its own room | Also hides the Lost Ring chest |
| Dance Bug | Locker in the storage room, two rooms right of the entrance | Open the locker |
The Tato Eel works a little like the mollusc: it hides and only comes out after a moment, so keep the camera on its plant instead of leaving.
Aquarium quests to finish on the same visit
Three Deltburg quests take place in or around the aquarium, and you can do them while you are photographing the tanks:
- Evolutionary: talk to the scientist in the first room on the left when you enter. He wants three photos of one species at different stages. The animals live outside in Deltburg's water, not in the aquarium — see the Pondacondor evolution chart guide for the order.
- Feed a Fish: take the fish food from the shelf in the aquarium storage room, then use your screwdriver on the pipe until every arrow points the right way and put the food into the end of the pipe.
- Lost Ring: a sad girl in town has lost her ring. It is in a chest inside the sunfish tank; photograph the chest when it opens and show her the photo. The walkthrough lists it with the other Deltburg quests.
Doing these together saves a return trip, and each one adds a stamp toward the stamps you need to move on from Deltburg.
Photo tips for aquarium tanks
- Frame one tank at a time. Several tanks sit close together in this room, so make sure the shell in the first tank is the one in view before you focus.
- Take the photo as soon as it appears. The sign says the mollusc only pops out occasionally, so do not wait for a better angle.
- Check the compendium afterwards. The mollusc should now have its own entry; if it does not, go back to the first tank and focus on the shell again.
- Use your preferred controls. On PC you can zoom with the scroll wheel and rotate the camera by holding the right mouse button; see mouse camera controls.
FAQ
Related
- Pondacondor Evolution Chart Photo Order — Solve the aquarium scientist's photo board.
- Complete Walkthrough — Every Deltburg quest in one route.
- Bean Slurp — Finish the rooftop coffee quest in Deltburg.
- Mouse Camera and Movement Controls — Zoom and rotate the camera with a mouse.