#aquarist problems

[ihazyourkitty]

Working with animals means you can no longer consume fictional media about animals without judging it severely, especially when it involves zoos or aquaria.

I’m looking at you Finding Dory, you are the bane of my existence!

Listen…. The scene with the ray migration is cool and all, but all their singing voices are male, yet a none of these rays have claspers! None of them!

No you can’t just have all your aquatic systems connected like that! What do you mean the connections include quarantine!?!? That defeats the whole purpose of quarantine you idiots!

Speaking of which, where is your filtration? You’re telling me Dory is swimming between all these tanks but not once does she get stuck in some kind of filter? Are you kidding me? Even as a baby she gets swept up into some kind of intake flow, but still no filter? What’s even the point of all this plumbing!? What are they just pumping seawater in and out like it ain’t no thang? That’s not how water quality managment works!

Oh no no no noooo it gets worse! You have a cold water mammal (beluga) in a connected system with a warm water animal (whale shark)? Oh and the whale shark speaks whale now!? That doesn’t even make any sense it’s not a whale it’s a shark! Did… did these writers even try to do any research on these animals!??

You know what, I can suspend my suspension of disbelief well enough to buy that the octopus is haphazardly going between tanks without consequence. But the mop bucket!?!? THE MOP BUCKET!?!? ON WHAT PLANET IS A MOP BUCKET FULL OF FRESHWATER AND CLEANING CHEMICALS A SUITABLE PLACE FOR AN OCTOPUS!?!?

…..anyways, I’m not allowed to watch Finding Dory with my friends anymore….

[kaxen]

Moderately convinced my shrimps need some mild fear of death to fuck because my tank with no fish seems to have eggs way less frequently than the one with the betta fish

[die-hard-dressage]

I dont like goldfish but you have no idea how tempted i was to dump $100+ on a new giant tank to snatch this lil guy up

[sea-nerd-adventures]

A Haiku about my job

Love my animals But they are a pain sometimes Can you fuckin not

[ihazyourkitty]

Arapaima, also known as pirarucu (scientific name Arapaima gigas*) are super cool fish, perhaps one of the coolest I've ever had the privilege of working with. They're massive and you definitely need to respect their space and strength. But they're typically not aggressive towards people, and can have such chill, dopey personalities. They're also very trainable, which is something more and more professional aquarists have been taking advantage of in order to provide better husbandry.

I love them.

So when I see instagram reels of some sketchy hobbyist keeping them in questionable conditions, and feeding them a bunch of live food (often other large, expensive fish that makes me wonder where he is sourcing all these specimens) in a way that's just... so not necessary.... all because he just wants show off some weird masculine flex about keeping "monster fish" .....

It makes me feel a special kind of angry.

[sea-nerd-adventures]

As much as I hate to admit it, our feisty little kraken is getting old, and she has been getting old for a couple of months now. Senescence, or aging, in octopuses is a very natural part of their short life cycle. For the small species I work with like this common octopus, they only live one or two years at most both in the ocean and in human care. Though this is a known and expected part of working with these animals, it doesn’t make this process much easier to witness, nor does it prevent me from getting way too attached to each amazing individual. Our little nugget is eating (albeit less enthusiastically) and shows interest in interacting with both us aquarists and the enrichment we give her, but she won’t be for long. And it sucks. It sucks so so so much. But, I am so happy for the short time I have been privileged enough to spend with this animal. Her fiery and often troublemaking self has taught me so much about enrichment, habitat design, animal intelligence, and the incredible joy that comes with being an aquarist and working with all of our amazing animals. I’m going to miss this crazy little lady so much.

[sea-nerd-adventures]

When I see a guest start to reach their hands into a habitat or do something else Against The Rules but they stop because they notice I'm watching

[sea-nerd-adventures]

Today in Aquarist-ing

•Got smacked in the face by a live fish •Covered in dried algae, dirt, and sand •Got soaked literally from head to toe in saltwater •Didn’t have time to take lunch until 2pm •Acquired at least 3-4 new scrapes and bruises •So exhausted I could barely move when I got home •Still think I have the greatest job in the whole entire world 😊