The animals living at Butterfly House Haga Ocean are cared for by our skilled animal caretakers.
We work to create optimal conditions for our butterflies with the right humidity, light, temperature and vegetation. Our aquatic animals have optimal water conditions correct temperature, PH, salinity and all other parameters required.
Animal welfare is our top priority. The Butterfly House is involved in a wide range of projects and initiatives outside the House. From pollinator meadows, wild salmon conservation, algae farming and local wetlands to satellite tagging of sharks in the Pacific and reef building in Africa.
Family: Magnificent butterflies (Nymphalidae)
Distribution : Mexico, South America
Wingspan: About 10-14 cm.
Family: Magnificent butterflies (Nymphalidae)
Distribution : Mexico, Central & South America
Wingspan: Approximately 7-20cm.
Family: Magnificent butterflies (Nymphalidae)
Distribution : Mesico, Central America, Florida, Texas
Wingspan: About 5-8 cm.
Family: Knight butterflies (Papiliondae)
Distribution : Southeast Asia
Wingspan: About 10-12 cm.
Family: Magnificent butterflies (Nymphalidae)
Distribution : Mexico, Cetral & South America
Wingspan: About 11-15 cm.
Family: Knight butterflies (Papilionidae)
Distribution: Southeast Asia and Australia
Wingspan: About 12-14 cm.
Family: Magnificent butterflies (Nymphalidae)
Distribution : From Peru to the Caribbean and Mexico
Wingspan: Approximately 8.5-11 cm.
Size: Up to 25cm
Lifespan: Up to 80 years
Distribution: Southern Europe
Food: Herbivore
The Greek tortoise is native to southern Europe. It is a herbivore and likes dandelions, clover and many other plants and herbs. The Greek tortoise has many partners. The female uses visual cues and the male's loud sounds to choose a mate. When a male wants to mate, he courts the female by biting her front legs. When the female lays eggs, she looks for a good place to bury them. The Greek tortoise hibernates for about 2-3 months in winter.
Size: About 30-70 cm long
Lifespan: Up to 100 years
Distribution : Africa
Food: Herbivore.
The leopard tortoise is the fourth largest tortoise in the world. The largest leopard tortoise was 65 cm long and weighed 43 kg. Did you know that? You can identify leopard tortoises by the pattern on their shells. They all look different.
Size: 25 - 40 cm
Distribution: South America
Food: Vegetables, fruit and carrion.
Poison dart frogs are incredibly beautiful but extremely poisonous. Their colorful bodies act as a good defense system as the color signals that the frog is poisonous. The poison of the poison dart frog comes from their diet of ants, termites and other insects. The weak poison from the insects is then concentrated in the frog into a much stronger poison. Poison dart frogs raised in a controlled environment are not poisonous as they lack access to the insects found in the rainforest. Did you know that poison dart frogs have a natural enemy, the snake Leimadophis epinephelus. The snake is resistant to the frog's poison.
Size: 3-5 cm
Distribution: Central & South America
Food : Insects
Lifespan: Up to 5 years
The golden coco poison frog, also known as the yellow poison frog, is considered the most poisonous frog in the world. The venom it produces is twenty times stronger than the venom of other poisonous frogs. The frog's bright yellow color warns predators that it is extremely toxic. However, the golden coco poison frog is not toxic in a controlled environment.
Lifespan: Up to 20 years
Size: 4-8 cm
Food: Insects
Distribution : China, Korea and Russia
The bell frog is named after the call of the male frog. During mating, the male lies down with his legs spread and sings. The sound is reminiscent of distant church bells. The oriental bell frog has a strong coloration to warn the environment that it is poisonous. However, the poison is very weak.
Lifespan: Up to 15 years
Size : 5-12 cm
Food : Carnivore
Distribution: Africa
The African clawed frog has three claws on its hind legs which it uses to tear apart food. The frog is almost entirely aquatic and only comes up on land when it needs to move to new bodies of water. The frog species belongs to the family Pipidae and all frog species in this family are tongueless. African clawed frogs were used as human pregnancy tests in the 1940s and 1950s. Scientists discovered that young female frogs laid eggs after being injected with the urine of pregnant women.
The redfin is a large fish that can grow up to 1.8 meters long and weigh up to 80 kg. It is omnivorous and needs a diet high in protein. In the wild, it eats anything it can find such as fish, crustaceans, insects and fruits. The fish originates from the Amazon, Orinoco and Essequibo river basins in South America.
The koi carp is Japan's national fish. Koi are a refined version of the common carp. Koi have been cultivated for thousands of years and are therefore not particularly afraid of humans. The fish lives for about 15-35 years. Koi are omnivorous and eat everything from meat to plants. Koi do not have visible teeth, they have pharyngeal teeth which means that they are located at the back of the throat, past the gills.
Length: About 30 cm
Lifespan: About 10-20 years
Habitat : Freshwater rivers
Diet : Omnivorous
Distribution : South America
Pirayas are notorious for being bloodthirsty meat grinders that swim in schools leaving only scraped skeletons behind. This terrifying image is not entirely true. Pirayas sometimes hunt in schools, but recent research suggests that piranhas often stick together to protect themselves from enemies. Piranha teeth are sharp and triangular. Their bite is one of the most powerful among all fish.
Length: Up to 75 cm long
Weight: Up to 20 kg
The white-spotted freshwater stingray is endemic to the Xingu River in Brazil. It prefers clear water with a rocky bottom. This ray has a venomous tag attached to its tail fin.
Food: Carnivore
Distribution: South America
The giant gourami lives in fresh and brackish water and originates from rivers, swamps and lakes in southeast Asia. The giant gourami is a labyrinth fish. They are a group of fish that have a specialty, the labyrinthine organ that allows them to take in oxygen above the water surface. The labyrinthine respiratory system has evolved because these fish often live in oxygen-poor waters. The respiratory system can absorb atmospheric air at the water surface and the fish can therefore live in waters with such low oxygen levels that breathing through the gills alone does not meet the fish's oxygen needs.
Family: Pomacentridae
Size: Up to 15 cm
Distribution : Indian and Pacific Oceans
Food: Algae, zooplankton and crustaceans
Clownfish live in symbiosis with sea anemones. The clownfish has a protective mucus so it can live among the anemone's arms without getting burned. The clownfish is well protected from enemies of the anemone. In turn, the clownfish protects the anemone from its enemies and eats parasites on the anemone. The movement of the fish also helps to bring more oxygen-rich water to the anemone.
Family: Bannerfish
Size: Up to 25 cm
Distribution: Indo-Pacific
Food: Omnivorous.
Family: Emperor fish
Size: Up to 40 cm
Distribution : Indian and Pacific Oceans
Food: Fungi and tunicates.
Family: Surgeonfish
Size: Up to 15 cm
Distribution : Pacific
Food : Algae and zooplankton.
Family: Surgeonfish
Size: Up to 35 cm long
Distribution : Indian and Pacific Oceans
Food: Algae
Family: Cadillac perch
Size: Up to 8 cm long
Distribution : Western Pacific
Food : Prefers small crustaceans.
Family: Manatees
Size: Up to 7 cm long
Distribution : Pacific
Food : Crustaceans
The mandarin fish is one of two known animal species that produce blue pigment. Most blue animals are blue by appearance. The color comes from lots of tiny colorless crystals that refract light so that blue light is reflected back. The mandarin fish doesn't do that. It has real blue color pigment. This fish is also poisonous. It has spines that contain a toxic slime.
Family: Emperor fish
Distribution: Various reefs in Oceania
Food: Algae and crustaceans
Family: Gray sharks
Size: Up to 2 m
Distribution : Trio Indo-Pacific region
Food: Fish, crustaceans
A medium-sized shark with noticeable black-tipped fins. The blackfin reef shark is considered the most common reef shark. It has an extremely small home range and often stays there for years. The blackfin reef shark has no gill muscles. It has to swim in order to breathe.
Family: Grey sharks
Size: Up to 2.5 meters
Distribution : Tropical seas
Food: Fish, crustaceans
The highfin reef shark is one of the largest sharks living near the coastline. It has a tall triangular dorsal fin that weighs about 18% of the shark's total body weight. The highfin reef shark can live for more than 30 years.
Distribution: Australia and parts of Asia
Size: Up to 12 cm long
Food: Insects, seeds and various grasses
Lifespan: About 2 years in the wild
The Chinese dwarf quail is classified as the world's smallest chicken bird. It is about 12 cm long and weighs about 30-40 grams. Pygmy quails are ground-dwelling birds and thrive in areas with open terrain. They feed on insects, seeds and various grasses. Chinese dwarf quails can fly short distances but prefer to stay on the ground. One of the most remarkable features of Chinese dwarf quails is their plumage. Males usually have a more eye-catching plumage than females, with a palette of colors that can include shades of brown, white, black and blue. Female plumage is usually more muted to provide camouflage and protection when incubating eggs. Chinese dwarf quails are also known for their characteristic and loud calls that sound like small whistles.
Lifespan: About 20 years
Size: About 35 cm
Distribution : Desert and rocky areas in northwest Africa
Diet: Herbivore
The dabbagam's body color varies according to age, body temperature and access to UV light. When the dabbagam sleeps, its body temperature drops and its body color becomes lighter. When it wakes up again and goes out in the sun, the colors become brighter. Dabbagams live in dry and warm areas. It has a canal system under its skin. If there is a drought, water is stored in the canals and sent out to the lizard's mouth. The canals perform the same function as the camel's humps. Dabbagams reach sexual maturity at 3-4 years of age. The female lays up to 28 eggs that hatch within 90 days.
Length: 25-30 cm
Life span: Up to 10-15 years
Food : Carnivorous
Distribution : Mexico
The axolotl is an aquatic salamander from Mexico and belongs to the group of amphibians. It comes in many different colors from white to brown and black. The axolotl originates from two freshwater lakes in Mexico. Before Mexico City expanded, the lakes were fully functional and full of life. Today, one lake has disappeared and only remnants of the other lake, Xochimilco, remain in the form of canals. Because of this, axolotls are rarely found in the wild anymore.
Owl butterfly
(Caligo telamonius memnon)
Blue morpho
(Morpho peleides)
Red Postman
(Heliconius erato)
Asian swallowtail
(Papilio lowi)
Blue-banded morpho
(Morpho achilles)
Scarlet Mormon
(Papilio rumanzovia)
Tropical Milkweed
(Lycorea halia cleoba)
Greek tortoise
(Testudo hermanni)
Leopard tortoise
(Stigmochelys pardalis)
Red-footed tortoise
(Chelonidis caronaria)
Golden coconut poison frog
(Phyllobates terriblis)
Oriental bell frog
(Bombina orientalis)
African bell frog
(Xenopus laevis)
Redtail moth
(Phractocephalus hemioliopterus)
Koi carp
(Cyprinus carpio)
Piraya
(Serrasalmus)
White-spotted freshwater stingray
(Potamotrygon leopoldi)
Chocolate ciclid
(Hypselecara temporalis)
Giant gourami
(Osphronemus goramy)
Clownfish
(Amphiprion ocellaris)
Long-finned paddlefish
(Heniochus acuminatus)
Nicobar Emperor
(Pomacanthus imperator)
Yellow surgeonfish
(Zebrasoma flevescens)
Pallet surgeon
(Paracanthurus hepatus)
Banggai Cardinal
(Pterapogon kauderni)
Mandarin fish
(Synchiropus splendidus)
Fire dwarf emperor
(Centropyge loricula)
Blackfin reef shark
(Carcharhinus melanopterus)
High finned reef shark
(Carcharhinus plumbeus)
Chinese dwarf quail
(Excalfactoria chinensis)
Dabbagam
(Uromastyx)
Axolotl
(Ambystoma mexicanum)
Visit us
Here you will find all the information you need to prepare for your visit.
About us
Fjärilshuset was founded in 1989 but has been run by Mikael Odell since 2006. Read more about us and our history here.
Our history
The Haga Ocean Butterfly House is a living museum.
Find here
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Accessibility
The Haga Ocean Butterfly House is a place for everyone to discover.
Questions & answers
Here you can read the most common questions and answers.
Tickets & price
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Opening hours
Read more about our opening hours, which may vary slightly throughout the year.
Find here
Read more about the different ways to get here.
Our café
Take the opportunity to enjoy a coffee when you visit.
Accessibility
The Haga Ocean Butterfly House is a place for everyone to discover.
Questions & answers
Here you can read the most common questions and answers.
