BETH ANN PANOCHA

Though I am relatively new to the professional world of aquariums (or in my case zoos) I have been interested in fish for as long as I can remember. I remember as a child we had a 55 gallon FOWLR tank in out living room, I fell asleep in front of that many of times. When I was in Jr high I realized I wanted to spend my life working with marine life, just not sure in which way. I later attended Florida Institute of Technology majoring in marine biology. I took a introduction to aquaculture class my freshman year and I was hooked. I became a member (and eventually president) of our aquaculture society and set up several tanks, sizing from 10 to 300 gallons, including a seahorse tank. I quickly learned how much I loved sygnathids and that I wanted to work with them as much as possible. When I got a job at Brookfield Zoo working not only with fish but specifically seahorses I was overjoyed. Hopefully some of the information I have learned can benefit others.