Behind every visitor’s experience lies a hidden world: an “invisible aquarium” where the daily work of an essential team takes place, ensuring the care and conservation of thousands of species.
L’Aquàrium is home to aquariums and tanks that recreate ecosystems from the Mediterranean, tropical seas and polar zones. This complex infrastructure works thanks to highly specialized professionals who work every day to keep different ecosystems alive and balanced within the same building.
This is the true heart of the centre: the coordinated effort of biologists, aquarists and technicians who look after the health, feeding and wellbeing of thousands of organisms.
How the scientific team works every day
Work you don’t see, but you notice
The L’Aquàrium team is made up of professionals with decades of experience in marine biology and in maintaining aquatic ecosystems. Their daily work includes tasks essential to the animals’ lives:
- Observing the behavior of each species, adjusting their diet and overseeing reproduction processes
- Carrying out health checks, blood tests, ultrasounds and applying preventive treatments
- Maintaining the tanks, preparing food and applying environmental enrichment
Technicians specialized in marine cultures, biologists and veterinarians, supported by cutting-edge technology, constantly monitor essential parameters such as temperature, salinity, water quality and lighting, ensuring the precise recreation of each ecosystem.
Want to find out what an aquarist’s job involves? Children can experience it firsthand.
Health and welfare protocols: the team’s priority
A great daily challenge
L’Aquàrium, located in a city known for the 1992 Olympic Games and its heritage modernist, is the aquarium with the greatest diversity of species in Europe: it is home to more than 600 different species, from small invertebrates to penguins and sharks over three metres long. Each one requires specific care and protocols tailored to its needs.
The day begins with visual checks and water parameter analysis. Prevention is key: detecting a change in behavior can help avoid the development of an illness. Precision is essential, since even a minimal variation in water quality can affect extremely sensitive species.
Every gesture the team makes — an observation, a decision, a routine carried out with care — sustains the lives of hundreds of species that depend on this space to remain in balance.
The Premium Visit allows you to get closer to this world that normally remains hidden.
Feeding and enrichment routines
The huge responsibility of caring for the animals
The L’Aquàrium team’s routines follow strict schedules and focus, among other things, on observing:
- Appetite
- Behaviour
- Interaction with the environment
- Weight variations
Environmental enrichment — such as hiding food or simulating hunting situations — keeps the animals active and helps reduce stress.
Many animals recognize their keepers and react to their presence. Some approach when they hear familiar footsteps; others wait for their daily moment of attention. These behaviors are a key indicator of the bond with their keepers and of the animals’ wellbeing.
Did you know that every day more than 150 different menus are prepared?
During the visit, you’ll be able to witness some of the marine animals’ feeding moments
The work behind the aquarium: 30 years caring for marine ecosystems
The importance of daily work
Every day at L’Aquàrium, stories unfold that don’t appear on the information panels. There are fish that recognize their keepers, animals that have been under the team’s care for decades, and births that require months of preparation.
There are also rescues, recoveries and processes that only those who devote their lives to protecting marine ecosystems can truly understand. These stories reflect the human dedication behind every tank.
In addition, L’Aquàrium takes part in conservation programs such as the marine centre with initiatives that aim to:
- Maintain self-sufficient populations in captivity
- Ensure physical wellbeing and genetic diversity
- Study behavior and reproductive biology
- Share data with international conservation networks
Some populations are maintained as genetic reserves, a tool to secure their future in a context where natural ecosystems are under threat.
It is discreet, constant and deeply committed work.
If your professional profile matches our mission
Premium Visit: discover how an aquarium works from the inside
A unique experience
Since it opened, L’Aquàrium de Barcelona has gained international recognition as a research centre, with agreements signed with universities and scientific institutions.
The Premium Visit allows access to spaces usually closed to the public and to discover, alongside a marine biologist, how an aquarium works from the inside. It’s an opportunity to understand the team’s daily work and discover the care behind every ecosystem.
Check the details of the guided tour of the technical area
Frequently asked questions
Have questions?
What does the Premium Visit include?
Access to technical areas, accompaniment by a biologist, and an inside view of how the aquarium works.
How long does the experience last?
The Premium Visit lasts approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.
What does a marine biologist do at L’Aquàrium?
They oversee the behavior, feeding, reproduction and wellbeing of the species.
How is the animals’ health looked after?
Through daily checks, water analysis, veterinary examinations and preventive protocols.
What do sharks and penguins eat?
Sharks: oily fish and cephalopods.
Penguins: fresh fish enriched with vitamins.
You can check their feeding schedule and see it live during your visit to L’Aquàrium.
How can I visit the marine centre’s technical area?
By booking the Premium Visit, which includes exclusive access, no queues and an expert guide.
What special opportunities, besides exploring the exhibits can young people experience at L’Aquàrium de Barcelona?
Children and teenagers can access the technical area through activities such as:
- Aquarist for a day
- School visits for secondary education in Barcelona
- School visit to the technical area
- Premium Visit
- Family activities
There are also other experiences that enrich the visit:
L´Aquàrium also offers unique experiencies to the youngest visitors
Explore more ecosystems at L’Aquàrium
Natural aquariums inspired by the work of Takashi Amano
Check our list of species
Articles on marine life and sustainability