Reintroduction Assistant

Our Reintroduction Assistants  help to advance Tennessee Aquarium’s freshwater conservation mission by providing daily husbandry needs of reintroduction programs for southeastern aquatic animals. Daily duties include overall husbandry of aquatic animals, primarily fishes, in recirculating systems under human care. This may take place at the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI), Tennessee Aquarium facilities open to the public such as River Journey and Ocean Journey, or Tennessee Aquarium Animal Care Facility (ACF). Occasionally assists in fieldwork for conservation programs. Additionally, they visually monitor animals for health and behavioral abnormalities, aid in the maintenance and occasional improvement of the life support facilities and help with other tasks as needed.

Key Responsibilities

• Provides daily husbandry needs for animals including feeding, cleaning, and observing.
• As directed, groups fish by size into different tanks to optimize growth of fish.
• Cleans and maintains tanks and associated life support systems. This includes scrubbing and siphoning multiple times a day, water changes, and backwashing filters.
• Assists with raising live food cultures for larval fish.
• Visually monitors animals to detect health or other husbandry problems. Promptly notifies supervisor of concerns as they occur.
• Prepares/chops food and washes equipment. This may include but is not limited to 1 hour of chopping frozen fish food by knife as well as utilizing food processors and other kitchen tools daily. Food offered includes, but is not limited to, blood worms, brine shrimp, krill, silversides, and microfauna.
• Routinely conducts water quality testing using various probes, spectrophotometer, and other lab equipment as needed
• Interacts with other staff to support ongoing research projects.
• Occasionally assists with fieldwork to support other Tennessee Aquarium programs.
• Assists with tours of facility as requested.

Key Requirements

•    High school diploma or GED required.
•    Coursework or degree in undergraduate program in biology, fisheries, or a related field preferred.
•    Experience with or knowledge of maintaining freshwater aquaria.
•    Good written and oral communication skills.
•    Ability to work independently with little supervision, and as part of a team.
•    Working knowledge of basic carpentry and plumbing helpful.
•    Flexibility to adapt as situations change. Often with little notice or time to prepare.
•    Ability to maintain a positive attitude when dealing with stressful situations. 
•    Resilience to conservation fatigue and ability to navigate balancing the health of the population with individual wellbeing.

Seasonal, hourly ($15.00/hour); May – October. Typically, standard 40-hour work week. Includes weekends and holidays when necessary.