It takes 46 displays including an indoor tropical greenhouse to curate and house 10,000 fish and 100 of their closely linked reptilian and amphibian counterparts at the AQUATIS. From the very first step you take into the conservatory, you would be brought on a whirlwind journey across five continents and 20 of their freshwater ecosystems in the span of just 3 hours.

Down the countless aisles you are bound to lose track of hide elusive river giants and elusive creatures of the dark, fish wide and small, broad and tapered, each a master of their niche in the world. Every single organism you come across within the walls of AQUATIS is a hunted refugee, critically endangered in the areas which were once their home. The curious long snout of the Alligator Gar is the first to catch anyone’s eyes, uneven rows of teeth peeking from its gums along the side. River behemoths from the tropics such as the Pirarucu and Arapaimas barely bat an eyelid as they drift past their inquisitive audience reaching forward in a vain attempt to brush their iridescent scales. Piranhas, often seen as a thing of nightmares in the Amazon, are surprisingly docile behind glass walls where one might just happen to miss the tiny razor sharp triangles gleaming beneath the spotlights. Komodo dragons, mongoose and more complete the tiny habitats of these creatures to recreate the home they have had to leave behind. Even locations not within reach of the AQUATIS are given a special place of honor through digital displays. Hands gripped around a rubber cased set of wheels you can steer your own ROV across the shores of Lake Leman without stepping a foot past Lausanne. One circuit through AQUATIS would have brought you 39,000km around the world.