Here are the Most Amazing Animals You can See at the New Singapore Oceanarium!

Blub blub—it’s almost time to go under the water at the Singapore Oceanarium! After being announced all the way back in May, the former S.E.A. Aquarium reopens on 24 July 2025. And as luck would have it, we were invited to get a first look at the revamped space before that happens!

Now three times larger than before, the Singapore Oceanarium weaves an immersive narrative across 22 curated zones that house more than 40,000 marine animals. That’s a lot of fins, legs, and even webbed feet to take in—but have no fear! In this article, we’ll be spotlighting just a few of the incredible aquatic animals waiting for you at the Oceanarium. So without further ado, let’s dive in.

Jellyfishes

Starting in Ocean Wonders, you can catch one of the most ancient animals alive: the ethereal jellyfish. These fascinating creatures have been drifting through the seas for at least 500 and possibly even 700 million years, so to call them old is an understatement.

Here, the zone contains one of the world’s largest Kreisel habitats, featuring thousands of moon jellies that pulse in mesmerising, ever-changing moments. They’re hypnotising to watch, especially under the shifting soft lights, making them perfect for photo-ops.

Beyond those moonage daydreams, the Ocean Wonders zone also offers a 360-degree view of other equally captivating species like the Pacific and Atlantic sea nettles, which are known for their ghostly appearance and long, trailing tentacles.

The deceivingly delicious fried egg jellyfish, specifically of the Cotylorhiza tuberculata variety, makes an appearance as well. But unlike what its yolky bell suggests, this sea jelly is a tough eat thanks to its deep purple appendages, meaning you’re better off enjoying it as a feast for the eyes rather than the tastebuds.

Paddlefishes

Meanwhile, in the next zone, embark on a journey through time in Ancient Waters, where the evolutionary results of the Cambrian and Devonian periods tower over you alongside their modern-day relatives.

Said relatives include the American paddlefish, one of the newest additions to the Singapore Oceanarium’s collection and a close cousin of the caviar-producing sturgeons. B, it doesn’t use its distinctive snout to smell, though you’re quite close! 

Instead, a paddlefish’s nose—called a rostrum—serves as a powerful sensor, detecting the faint electric signals emitted by plankton, its favourite meal. Sadly, the American Paddlefish is the last surviving member of its 120-million-year-old family, so be sure to meet this living relic before it fades into legend.

Horseshoe Crabs

Beyond the American paddlefishes, you can also catch a glimpse of some horseshoe crabs in Ancient Wonders! These Gigeresque organisms belong to the Indo-Pacific variety, and despite what their name implies, they’re not crustaceans at all, being more closely related to spiders and scorpions than to lobsters or prawns.

Also, horseshoe crabs are unbelievably ancient, having been on Earth for an astonishing 445 million years. That’s largely thanks to their tough body shells and copper blue blood, which have made them highly resistant both to environmental hazards and bacterial infections, helping them survive multiple mass explosions and extinctions along their merry way.

Still, after spotting a bunch of them horsing around (pun intended), I’m starting to think that their adaptability has just as much to do with their physical makeup as their mental instincts to keep the family tree going…

Poison Dart Frogs

And so while we leave the horseshoe crabs to enjoy some much-needed privacy, let’s focus on Conquering Land—figuratively, of course. This zone is dedicated to the amphibians of past and present that took the first evolutionary steps onto land. So naturally, what would it be without a few poison dart frogs?

Fun fact: these amphibians aren’t born poisonous, but rather develop their toxins from eating certain insects that are. So, unless the folks at the Singapore Oceanarium are feeding them that exact diet, they’re likely far less poisonous than their wild counterparts. Still, I wouldn’t want to test that theory out—just in case.

But aside from the blue poison dart frog that we’ve captured in all of its azure glory, don’t miss its golden and yellow-banded siblings as well! After all, they’re super easy to spot, especially since their vibrant colours stand out so much against the leaf litter of their enclosures, each designed to mirror their native habitats of tropical Central and South America.

Cleaner Shrimps

Compare that to the Pacific cleaner shrimps in Singapore’s Coast, whose thin white antennae are the only real features that distinguish them from their rocky pools. Thankfully, there is a way to coax them out of the depths, but if the idea of a fish pedicure makes you squeamish, then it might not be for you.

In the spirit of the zone’s incredible interactivity, where you can touch bleached corals or gaze at seahorses through a bathyscope, you can also dip your hands into the Pacific cleaner shrimp tank and watch them go to work on your digits. 

Yes, they really are born to clean others, even in the wild! In fact, it’s believed that they get most of their sustenance from these symbiotic relationships, which means that these guys are set up for life here. Granted, the experience can be a bit ticklish, but hey—if a shrimp getting lunch and you getting a free wash isn’t a good enough deal, then I don’t know what is!

Sharks

Do you know what else is worth coming to the Singapore Oceanarium for? That’s right: the sharks! Now aptly titled Shark Seas, this zone retains much of what made its S.E.A. Aquarium predecessor—Apex Predators of the Sea—so memorable, right down to the iconic underwater tunnel and even more iconic sea dogs.

What is new about the zone is the updated signboards, which sport a fresh new look in tandem with the attraction’s refresh. Plus, the info sheets for each housed species now line both sides of the tunnel instead of just one, featuring details on them like their diet, distribution, and most interestingly: how to tell them apart.

So with just a few lines of reading and plenty of shark-watching, even you can become an expert on who’s who around the tunnel, from the petite tawny nurse and sluggish sandbar to the toothy sand tiger and unmistakable scalloped hammerhead!

Coral Reef Fishes

It’ll be well and truly impressive if you can name even ten fish in the Coral Gardens zone without peeking at the signs or being a marine biologist though—there’s practically an entire sea’s worth of them here! But when you consider that coral reefs support over 25% of all marine life despite making up only 1% of the ocean floor, this colourful explosion of biodiversity shouldn’t come as a surprise.

From just one single tank, we counted over a hundred coral reef fish, including varieties of surgeonfish (like the famous blue tang!), anthias, and wrasses. Together, they created a hurricane of hues, constantly changing in shape and direction as each fish darts in, out, and around the coral and caves of their enclosure.

It’s definitely a hypnotising sight to behold, even without considering the countless visitors who stopped dead in their tracks the moment they caught a glimpse of the habitat. Who knows, maybe the sight of these fish brought back childhood memories of being enthralled by dentist office aquariums, or maybe it’s just because their colours are super Instagrammable.

Moray Eels

Your guess is as good as mine, but if one thing’s for sure, it’s that you’ve got to check out the moray eels lurking in Coral Gardens too. They’re found deeper in the zone than the coral reef tank we photographed earlier, yet unlike the outgoing fish there, these living noodles are super shy.

Fortunately, you can venture into the crawl tunnel right next to their enclosure for a closer look into their secretive world, where they weave through numerous hidey-holes of their own just inches away. Make sure to catch the snowflake moray with its signature speckled pattern, as well as the dragon moray with its snail-like horns that are actually nostrils!

And if you still can’t get enough of eels, fret not: deeper in the oceanarium, the Benthos zone also features an aquarium containing both the black-and-white honeycomb moray and the vivid neon lime green moray, nestled among the rocky crevices they call home.

Rays

But if you’ve got a thing for rays, you can get your fix at Open Ocean, where the vastness of the deep truly unfolds. Here, the heart of this zone lies in the Singapore Oceanarium’s most expansive habitat and viewing panel—a breathtaking display of spotted eagle rays, zebra sharks, shark rays, and other marine life gliding through the endless blue.

That’s without even mentioning the three gigantic manta rays inside: I managed to make out Mika—easily recognised by the black stripe on his underbelly—doing somersaults over one of the enclosure’s bubblers. Yet if you keep your eyes peeled, you might also get to view Mako, with his fully black body, and Mana, who has a heart-shaped mark on his stomach!

Yet, even if you’re unlucky enough to sight none of these gentle giants, don’t worry: there’s still plenty to see beyond the rays. I, for one, loved watching the derpy expressions of the travellies as they swam past the Ocean Open Dome. And just as I thought I’d seen all the sharks in their zone, imagine my shock when I sighted a hammerhead inside this tank too!

Dolphins

Moving into Migrators, the zone takes us on a journey alongside several aquatic animals as they navigate through migration cycles as ancient as the sea itself. That not only includes the vertical migration of species such as the Japanese Pineapplefish, which rise at night to feast, but also the horizontal movement of animals like the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, which move across vast distances for a myriad of reasons.

Thankfully, these charming mammals are going nowhere, but before you raise concerns about their wellbeing, the Singapore Oceanarium highlights on its digital displays that its Animal Care Specialists are constantly creating innovative ways to keep the dolphins physically and mentally fit, from enriching games and puzzles to playful entertainment sessions.

And by the looks of how excitedly these sea puppies are constantly jumping for joy in their enclosure, it seems that the oceanarium’s methods are working. With that said though, if you’re still someone who disagrees with the ethics of keeping dolphins in captivity (a fair qualm), then I hope that there’s at least some solace in knowing that Migrators also sheds light on the plight of cetaceans everywhere, and what everyday folks like you and I can do to help.

Whale

On a lighter yet perhaps more morbid note, the Whale Fall and Seamout zone showcases what’s left of a whale carcass long after its passing, and the lively ecosystem that unexpectedly springs from its grave. 

Thanks to the help of immersive projections and dramatic lighting, the life-sized skeleton and its surrounding hydrothermal vents are ironically brought to life—and wow, walking underneath its ribcage was nothing short of surreal. If only Captain Ahab were around to experience it!

Then, he’d be able to appreciate the unique animals that thrive in this extreme environment as well, from the creepy-crawly Japanese spider crabs and sea spiders, to the pale Australian Ghostsharks and deep-sea anemone. It’s genuinely mindboggling how marine life manages to survive this deep in the ocean, but as a wise (and equally suave) man once said: “Life, uh, finds a way.”

Lionfishes

Finally, to close this article off with a splash—no, a wave—of patriotism, we’re showcasing none other than the red lionfish, majulah! Now, while our photo was taken inside Oceans’ Future, you can actually catch another school of these vibrant yet venomous beauties over in the Reef Gardens zone too.

But circling back to where we started, Oceans’ Future shows us a harrowing glimpse of what could be and a reminder of what we need to protect before it’s too late. Here, the lionfish habitat doubles as a haunting work of art, depicting a submerged apartment now claimed by the waters of rising sea levels and climate change.

This scene is further made more poignant by the fact that the natively Indo-Pacific red lionfish are an invasive species in the Caribbean Sea, whose voracious appetites and lack of natural predators have disrupted the local food chain and the vital coral reefs of the North Atlantic Ocean. 

As such, this enclosure can also be interpreted as a sign of what happens if we leave these pretty yet problematic fish unchecked in the wrong environments, to the point where they start to invade even our homes: a distant, dystopian—but possible—consequence of our complacency.

And so, as we leave you to contemplate a future without any of these amazing aquatic animals and more, I urge you to visit the Singapore Oceanarium today to cherish the diverse marine life we have today, and why it’s so important that we need to act now to save our oceans.

Singapore Oceanarium

🗓️Date: Opens on 24 July 2025
📍Location: 8 Sentosa Gateway, Sentosa Island, Singapore 098269
💲Price:

* Peak refers to Saturday, Sunday, Singapore Public Holiday and the full month of June and December.

⏰Time: 10am to 7pm

To purchase your tickets to the Singapore Oceanarium, head over to their official website and don’t forget to follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to stay updated on their fin-tastic offerings. See you there on 24 July 2025!

Photos by Leo Chia of the DANAMIC Team.