#Aquarist

[marinebioblr]

Close encounters!

My beautiful koi betta Bisby has had a jumping spider neighbor taking advantage of her tank light to hunt bugs under for some time, and recently they met face to face! Very happy to capture each of them acknowledging the other - and Bisby's quick look back at me as if to say "you're seeing this too right?!" 🧡

Edit ✨️ For all those concerned, yes, she does have a lid! I'd just cleaned and was hanging out right there where I filmed from at my office desk. If you are new to fish keeping, please invest in a good lid or when picking setups, favor tank kits that include one!

[mushroomslayer]

One of my khuli loaches just existing

[iridescentclouds29]

Chilling

[lunarloaches22]

I drew my aquarium!

[aquariumpacific]

Our podcast, Aquarium of the Podcific, is back for season two! Join hosts Erin Lundy and Madeline Walden on a deep dive of Aquarium of the Pacific animals, conservation efforts, careers, and more.

We are off to a ray-ly good start this season with Aquarist Sarah Nevarez! Sarah talks about her experience caring for the aquarium's rays, their silly behaviors, and how closely they are related to sharks.

Aquarium of the Podcific is available everywhere you listen to podcasts.

[ajomagurd]

Soooo, i got a pet leech.

His (their? Its?) Name is Larry. I got him from a swamp in Tacoma.

He seems like a *Placobdella* leech, usually feeding on snails and frogs. But i got him to feed on me.

Here he is all stretched out, lounging.

The thing is, there are so few resources about how to care for leeches, especially of this variety. Does anyone know? Any fellow leech lovers on tumblr have any idea about what they need to be happy?

[gayforthesun]

For anyone interested in my crayfish: Scissoring molted on Friday and now has absolutely massive pinchers

Look at how chunky!! and colorful!! For comparison, here’s how his claws looked before the molt (left) vs today (right)

[guarddogdyke]

i do not regret spending a little extra on a pair of gold laser corydora catfish i was hunting for these bitches forever and now that i have them in my tank i cannot stop looking at them i love my sillies and if they breed i will be able to die happy

sometimes when one of them starts slurping on the glass i’ll get close and do the catfish slurpy thing too so they feel like i’m one of them

[lshark-cs]

[Video description: a gray triggerfish sees his reflection in my phone camera and tries to investigate]

Wesson is an absolute treasure. He makes the hardest days as an aquarist worth my while.

[marinebioblr]

Today I got to visit the Georgia Aquarium and do a little behind-the-scenes tour! This aquarist has the awesome task of feeding one of the resident whale sharks - no easy task, but they've employed a pretty ingenious track system of lines strung across the surface by which aquarists can pull themselves across on inflatable boats to keep ahead of one of the ocean's largest filter feeders!

[mushroomslayer]

My corys acting silly

[iridescentclouds29]

Amazing beauties at my local fish store. One of them is now at home :)

[lunarloaches22]

Say hi to Darrell

And Darrell, Darrell, and Darrell

And Darrell

[xxxball-fondlerxxx]

YALL I GOT NEW FISH TODAY!!!

everyone say hi to bing

and bong

[ajomagurd]

Larry Update! Its been over a year since I last fed Larry, but I am happy to report he is alive and well. I Just fed him.

Only got two good photos cuz i think he messed up and let a bit of blood escape and you dont need to see that.

But there he is happy in his bowl.

I learned a couple things about how to feed proboscis-having leeches. In the wild, Larry's hosts likely have soft skin, like snails, or seams where it is easy to insert a needle, like a turtles shell-skin seam.

Last time i fed him i had a convenient injury but this time i didnt, so i had to make one. I just scratched my arm with a rose thorn. A couple layers of skin was enough to get him attached.

Feeding was not as long as the last time. An hour or so. I now realize what i did wrong. After struggling to coax him off me, i got a smaller glass jar filled with water and cupped it under him. Once he touched water he detached immediately. So much easier.

This makes sense because in the wild an aquatic leech would not want to detach from a host above water and potentially get stuck on land. Especially because they cant see very well.

Anyway, thats the larry update!