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Fish Health Corner

Grass carp, an invasive speciesTHE HUSBANDRY TEAM

At the Visitor Center, you'll see hundreds of species of fish and invertebrates native to Oregon's coastal waters, all displayed in settings designed to replicate their natural habitats. Many of these exhibits showcase research being conducted in OSU's Hatfield Marine Science Center labs; others are designed to demonstrate important natural science concepts and issues. Caring for all these animals and keeping them healthy is the job of our Husbandry Team.

The term ‘husbandry’ refers to the care and maintenance of animals in captivity. Each member of the husbandry team has a specific role to play:

  • The CURATOR, Dennis Glaze, oversees and manages the Husbandry Team’s aquarists and the Aquatic Animal Teaching Laboratory, which is located behind the scenes.
  • The AQUARISTS are the ground troops monitoring our aquatic animal health management plan. Each aquarist is responsible for specific animals within designated areas of the Center, handling husbandry duties ranging from feeding to record-keeping, recognizing signs of stress and disease in their charges, maintaining the animals' homes and habitats, and responding to questions from visitors. Aquarists also help collect new animals as well as design and build new exhibits. Most of our aquarists are concurrently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate degree programs.
  • The VETERINARIAN, Dr. Tim Miller-Morgan, oversees the aquatic animal health management plan, monitors daily the health of the animals, and is responsible for all animal medical procedures. He is also the head of Oregon Sea Grant’s Aquatic Animal Health Program. Dennis Glaze, our Curator, is also an Aquatic Animal Health and Husbandry Specialist, and often works side-by-side with Dr. Miller-Morgan.

Meet the members of the husbandry team

 

BEHIND THE SCENES

See the Archives page for more articles, including:

  • Fish Bugs, Part I:  Where do they come from
  • Fish Bugs, Part II:  Meet some fish bugs

 

FISH BUGS, Part III
What do we do about them?

By Dennis Glaze, Curator of Husbandry / Aquatic Animal Health and Husbandry Specialist

Fish get bugs, just like humans, and the affects are much the same, too – lethargy, off-feed, isolation, and the many different internal processes that may be going on in response to the specific type of bug. Maintaining husbandry protocols (siphoning the substrate of detritus) is the chief weapon in our attack against bugs. The second weapon is reducing any situation that may cause our fish to become stressed. Both weapons center on safe handling procedures (no netting; limited chasing of the fish) and trying very hard to maintain water quality. Lastly, daily observations and record keeping are very important. More often than not, these preventative measures limit the bugs, and our fish stay relatively healthy.  However, what happens when a bug makes it through these first lines of defense?

When something unusual is observed - lesions, off-feed, lethargy, non-typical swimming behaviors - we transfer the fish to the HMSC West Wing hospital for further observations and minor medical exams - skin scrapes, gill snips - to obtain samples for observation under the microscope. If we find bugs, there are several different ways of attacking the problem dependent on the type of bug found. For example, leeches are hand picked from the fish (student/volunteer aquarists are the best at this procedure). Flukes, ciliates, and flagellates are treated with Formalin or other substances that kill the bugs. Bacterial infections are treated with various antibiotics. Then of course we can do surgeries to remove tumors, and repair damaged body parts.

The really cool thing about fish is if you can catch the problem early, isolate the patient, treat the bugs, and control bacterial infections, fish become tremendous healers. We once had a koi with a significant caudal fin bacterial infection that resulted in much of the tail from the caudal peduncle area back, eroding away. With treatments and prolonged care, the fish quickly and completely healed by regenerating the eroded areas.

 

HUSBANDRY TECHNIQUES

Watch as Dr. Tim Miller-Morgan explains some of our husbandry techniques:

 

TOURS

"Backstage tours" of our animal husbandry wing are available most Saturdays at noon. Check our Current Events page to see if a tour is scheduled. Guided tours are also available for adult, family and youth groups, if arranged in advance, for fee to cover staff time.

Critter Corner