Q and A with Rodney Glanville

Rodney Glanville is one of the primary aquarium technicians at ARMI’s FishCore, responsible for such things as fish husbandry, water filtration and pH maintenance.

Hello Rodney. You work at ARMI’s FishCore. The facility is one of the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere. Tell us about the journey you took to get here. 

I worked at Aquarium Industries (AI) for almost twelve years and that is where I discovered my love for animals – especially fish. It was at AI that I gathered my knowledge of fish health and completed a certificate III & IV in aquaculture before making the switch to science.

You’re renowned for being the ‘fish guy with tatts’. Did you always want to work with fish and cover yourself with tattoos? Did you ever envisage yourself doing something else when you were younger? 

It was a bit daunting coming to a massive scientific facility like this, especially with the amount of tattoos I have and not having a science background. The first couple of weeks were weird. People would stare and not know what to say or how to approach me. But once they did talk to me they realised I’m just a regular guy that loves getting tattooed. Ever since I was fifteen, I’ve wanted tattoos. I don’t think I’d be me without them. I have looked after fish in one way or another since I was eight. My Dad worked at AI for quite a long time before I started there. When I left school, I become a chef. After my two year apprenticeship, I realised it wasn’t for me, so dad got me a job at AI. 

Give us an insight into your working day at FishCore. What kind of things do you get up to?

I will arrive in the morning and get started preparing the food for the fish for the day, which involves harvesting artemia and paramecia for the juvenile fish to eat. It also involves feeding the adult fish and making sure there are no dead or sick fish. We also make sure that all the pumps and other running gear are working smoothly. If anything goes wrong it can be a really long day. Occasionally we will have visitors come through that always want to see the shark and axolotls and we happily show them.