Havets Hus i Lysekil

Havets Hus in Lysekil
Havets Hus is a seaside public aquarium on Sweden's west coast, focusing on marine life from the Gullmarsfjord and North Sea region. I'd been meaning to come here for years, mainly because they're known for occasionally keeping some quite rare species. Like most aquariums, the lineup changes frequently, so timing matters.

Some of the rarer species that have been kept here include transparent goby (Aphia minuta), megrim (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis), crystal goby (Crystallogobius linearis), bluemouth (Helicolenus dactylopterus), rock cook (Centrolabrus exoletus), painted goby (Pomatoschistus pictus), common ling (Molva molva), and leopard-spotted goby (Thorogobius ephippiatus). Not all species are always signed or on display, so there's often more in the collection than you might expect at first glance.

They don't just keep fish either. The collection has also included a wide range of marine invertebrates, with molluscs, marine bristle worms, crustaceans, and cnidarians all well represented. From a documentation perspective, this is one of the stronger marine collections in Sweden.

The whole place has a very professional feel. It's clearly built around education and showcasing both common and uncommon local species. One thing I really appreciate is that they publish a detailed inventory of the collection, including plants, algae, and animals. That alone already puts them in a different category for me.

The aquarium is unfortunately a bit off the usual tourist routes, so if you're traveling in Sweden you might not naturally end up in Lysekil. But if you do, it's absolutely worth a visit. It's also located quite close to Nordens Ark, which makes it easy to combine both in the same trip.

For me, this was mainly about finally seeing the collection, documenting it, and hopefully catching whatever rarities happened to be on show at the time.