So… what's an aquarist?
An aquarist is someone who provides daily care for animals (animal husbandry), and focuses on
animals that live in water. More specifically, it refers to the practice of
fishkeeping, but not all professional aquarists solely care for fish. (And some don't take care of fish at all!)
What do aquarists do?
On a daily basis, aquarists are typically responsible for the following:
- Observing animals, and participating in their healthcare
- Preparing food and feeding animals
- Cleaning aquatic exhibits, from dry land or while scuba diving
- Maintaining aquarium systems
- Cleaning filtration equipment
- Interpreting water chemistry
And also, depending on the size of the facility:
- Providing healthcare (below the surgical level)
- Testing water chemistry
- Maintaining larger-scale life support equipment
Me being funny in the food prep room at my first big aquarium internship in 2014.
Why share what I do?
Maybe you were familiar with the word
aquarist before reading this. If you weren't, rest assured that most people are not — including those who pay to visit public aquariums! I hope that, by browsing this website, you learn that:
- Fish and other aquatic animals aren't just thrown into tanks, many complex things are involved
- Applied aquarium science is a unique, interdisciplinary (and awesome) career path
Aquarists are equivalent to zookeepers within an organization. Aquarists may be called something else instead: keepers, trainers, biologists, aquarium/aquatic biologists, animal specialists, or something similar. And not just in zoos and public aquariums either: research facilities, aquaculture facilities, and fish hatcheries also employ fish and aquatic invertebrate specialists.
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