yay aquarium!

i volunteer at the DC aquarium (yes, DC has an aquarium. no, its not in baltimore. and yes it actually has fish - no whales though) 2-3x a week but haven't been able to go in since i burned my hand.

but i went in today, which was, in a word, awesome. i work as an aquarist's aide and andrew is my aquarist. he has about 15ish tanks that he is in charge of and when i come in, i help him care for those tanks as well as assist in the construction and maintenance of others. the DC aquarium is located in the basement of the commerce building (yes i know thats weird) and only has small and medium-sized tanks. so no big sharks or large marine animals. but there are smaller sharks, two caimans, a brand spanking new baby sea turtle, nautilus (they are *really* cool), two snakes, piranhas and tons of very cool fish.

so a typical day in the DC aquarium:
1) try and find andrew, who is usually building a new exhibit, in a wetsuit mucking around in a tank, or hiding from me. i think he likes to hide from me. if i can't find andrew (i spend a good chunk of time there looking for him), i go ahead and take temperatures for all of the tanks in his gallery. this also gives me a chance to give everyone the once-over and make sure all the fishies are accounted for and no one ate their tank buddy overnight or had babies or something.
2) prep food for feedings: this is actually pretty fun and sometimes gross (which, of course, makes it more fun). i also think andrew knows i like the gross stuff (like the time i shoveled fish poo gravel out of a tank we were breaking down all afternoon and made up songs about it) so he knows i like to dismember the earthworms for the freshwater stingrays and gut all the smelt. i am just so not right in the head. seriously, feeding is tricky and each tank has its own techniques. maybe when i am really bored i will go tank by tank and explain it (oh! i could "feature" one tank a week on the blog and make everyone read about how the nautilus don't feel like feeding and keep bumping into the tongs or how the whitemouth moray keeps stealing the snowflake moray's food even though the whitemouth is *supposed* to be on a diet).
3) i usually have some water changes (which is exactly what it sounds) and, sometimes, if i am a good volunteer, andrew gives me "arts and crafts" to do - like making fake roots and using the glue gun on fake plants for new exhibits. though after the whole "teapot" incident, i might not be allowed to use the glue gun anymore :(

i love it there - all the aquarists are great and super fun. and i cannot tell you how much i have learned about aquarium maintenance and construction - plus the fishies!!! i mean, how can i possibly not love the fishies!

so if you work downtown near federal triangle or just want a break, come and visit. its small and nowhere near as flashy as the bigger aquariums, but there is alot to see and i would love to show you around.

(oh and i was a good burn patient. didnt stick mummy fingers in the tank and let the moray eel (who is on a diet) chew on my fingers for awhile. see? i can behave...sort of.)