WORK STUDY FALL 2024: Fish Husbandry Assistant

About the Job

Dr. Salazar’s research laboratory (TC-146) houses a permanent indoor small colony of tropical freshwater fish. As part of this fish colony, we have small aquaria with adult breeders, juveniles, and eggs. The successful candidate will receive training to provide fish care weekly to maintain the quality of the tanks’ water, calibrate parameters to promote breeding, feed all fish, swap mates to maintain breeding, reared juveniles and eggs, and maintain the live colonies of worms and brine shrimp used as fish food. The Fish Husbandry Assistant will be assigned tasks including but not limited to:

• Sample and record water chemistry parameters
• Perform acclimatization and rotation of breeders across breeding tanks (as needed)
• Sample eggs and rear fry/juveniles
• Feed all fish
• Maintain live worm and live brine shrimp colonies (as needed)
• Clean tanks and filters
• Maintain logs and bookkeeping files and update standard operating procedures for fish care and handling

Qualifications:

• Must be a BSc Science major (minimum: second year standing)
• Must like to work with live fish and live aquatic small invertebrates
• Aquarium maintenance experience is a plus but it is not necessary
• Must know how to maintain & generate excel spreadsheets and have good attention to detail
• Must have good organizational skills and written/oral communication skills
• Animal care training and basic lab safety training will be provided

Work Study Eligibility:

Must be enrolled full time and in good academic standing at Cape Breton University

How to Apply:

A complete application must include: (1) cover letter specifying your interest and qualifications for this position, (2) resume or CV (clearly listing current employment and extracurricular activities), and (3) a copy of your CBU Fall 2024 course. Submit your complete application via to Dr. Vielka Salazar at vielka_salazar@cbu.ca

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Applicants must have room within their weekly schedules to work 10 hours M-F. This position is funded for a maximum of 10 hours per week for 7 weeks at a rate of $15.20 per hour.