Some fish from the St. Petersburg Pier aquarium were slowly introduced to their new home in the University Student Center this summer. While most are adapting well to USF St. Petersburg’s $37,000 fish tank, others couldn’t handle the change.
According to aquarist Zach Ostroff, who is the tank’s main caretaker, a few “smaller specimens” were lost about a month after installation, likely to disease. However, Butch Ringelspaugh, curator at Secrets of the Sea and formerly the pier aquarium, said no fish have died.
Ostroff said he is often asked where certain fish have gone, most notably the two smaller pufferfish.
“They’re both still there and doing fine. They must hide well when it isn’t feeding time,” he said.
Some students suggest other fish have gone missing, suspecting foul play by more aggressive animals, but Ostroff assures only one fish has been removed from the tank.
A few weeks ago, Ringelspaugh, removed a tarpon that was stressed out by its new environment.
“It wasn’t adapting to [the tank’s] system. It’s doing well over at Tampa Bay Watch now,” Ostroff said.
When the aquarium was installed in May, things were pretty tough, Ringelspaugh said, calling it a “big and complicated process.”
He explained that when a new tank is put together, not only do the fish have to reestablish their own territory to make themselves comfortable, but the water also has to equalize chemically. If the tank can’t equalize and the fish get stressed out from the change, parasites can get in and make the fish ill.
Ringelspaugh said Ostroff has been doing a fantastic job keeping the fish healthy and there are currently no problems to report. He noted two of his favorite fish for students to look out for: the Napoleon Wrasse and the Picasso Trigger Fish. The Picasso came from Butch’s home aquarium, and he’s known it for 15 years.
