Gettin' Fishy With It

In today's episode, "Species Spotlight: Billfish," the crew dives deep… like a swordfish… into the amazing billfish!  Billfish are a general term for swordfish, marlin, sailfish and spearfish. These monsters of the ocean are large, fast, agile, and apex predators. We discuss their anatomy, behavior, evolutionary adaptations and lifespans. We talk about how they can get caught in nets...

In today's episode , , "Fish Evolution," the crew chats about fish evolution with Dr. Kory Evans, Ichthyologist and professor of biosciences at Rice University in Texas! If you want to learn about the skull shapes of fish and how they evolved, Kory is the guy for you. We talk about evolution of electric fishes, the crazy second jaws of parrotfish and how flatfish (flounder, sole, hal...

In this episode, " Species Spotlight: Angelfish ," the crew go up to heaven… in search of the Angelfish (freshwater)! We focus on freshwater angelfish only and it's quite a deep dive! Physically speaking, they are certainly oddballs, from their prominent long fins to their fast snapping mouths to the bug eyes of the babies that seem to be screaming at you.  Did you know there are onl...

In today's episode, "GFWI Movie Club: Jaws ," the crew gets into everything JAWS! This classic movie celebrated its 50th anniversary this summer so there was no way we were missing this one. Join us as we point out the strengths and weaknesses of this movie. We highly suggest re-watching before the episode since it makes the observations that much more salient. Learn about the histor...

In today's episode, "Stickleback Stock Center," the crew learns about the gem of the northern hemisphere, the stickleback!  We interview Holly Valentine, the Stickleback Stock Center Stock Manager at UCONN and learn about this interesting little fish. Stickleback are incredibly adaptive and they are used for a variety of research topics. You might think Alaska only has snow and salmon but these li...

*** All views and opinions expressed by Joe Caterine on the podcast are his own and don't represent those of any of the organizations he is affiliated with. *** In today's episode, " Aquaculture Information Exchange ", the crew interviews Joe Caterine and learns about his role at the Aquaculture Information Exchange . This new aquatic-centered social media platform is just in its infancy and yet t...

In today’s episode, we get to know Dr. Wasseem Emam, the founder and director of Ethical Seafood Research , a nonprofit organization which is helping to uplift the welfare of food fishes. We get into the Canadian education system, talk about the purpose of some of these organizations and how they help fish live better lives. Wasseem has spent time in a lot of different countries and he is doing hi...

In this episode, "Species Spotlight: Pirahna," the crew chomps off another episode with a look into the “fearsome” piranha!  Many people don't know that piranhas are related to many peaceful community fish and that they are big chickens when it comes to bravery. We also get some words from the late Teddy Roosevelt and his observations on piranhas.  Lastly, we chat about the care of t...

In today's episode, the crew once again dives into the Zebrafish Husbandry Association initiative to make science more easily accessible and reproducible. Ana Borges of the Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine breaks down the benefits of sharing this information and how it can make the collaborative scientific community even better! The more data we collect and report, the easier it is to d...

In today's episode, the crew chats with Brendan De Grim, the Dive Safety Officer of New Orleans own Audubon Aquarium ! Not only is his job super cool but his path to getting there is certainly one you're going to want to hear!  From criminal justice to banking to private investigator to scuba instructor, Brendan teaches us that the path to the fish world can be a windy road. The Aquarium i...

Did you ever wish there was a real School of Wizardry except for fish? You're in luck! In today's episode, "Marine Science Magnet High School," the crew gets educated with Eric Litvinoff from the Marine Science Magnet High School . Connecticut has excellent magnet schools which are paid for by tax dollars and allow for equal opportunity attendance for anyone in the state. MSMHS i...

Were you ever envious of the powers of Aquaman? In today's episode, " Training Sharks and Rays ", the crew explores the fascinating world of training sea creatures. But did you know it's not just dolphins and sea lions that are trainable? Sharks and rays can be taught to do all sorts of things! We can train them to come to a specific location or sit on a hammock, all to enable th...

In today's episode, " Federal Funding for Fish Conservation and Human Health ," the crew discusses federal funding, its importance in the lives of fish and how we benefit as humans. We cover the US Fish & Wildlife Service, the US Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association, the National Institutes of Health, and the Environmental Protection Agenc...

In today's episode, " Zebrafish Husbandry Reporting & Reproducibility Initiative (Part 1) ," we talk with former Zebrafish Husbandry Association President Michelle Altemara about her new initiative to standardize reporting in fish research papers. Science has a reproducibility problem and oftentimes it's because we don't account for all of the variables. Sometimes, “we keep fish on a recircula...

In this episode, "Species Spotlight: Sturgeon," the crew shines a spotlight on sturgeons! Let's dive into all the facts about these prehistoric & gentle boop noodles! This podcast is brought to you by the mosquitofish.  These tiny fish are not bloodsucking pests as their names might suggest but rather they consume mosquito larva with gusto.  Mosquito fish are the most widespread...

In this episode, " Story Time with Josh Barber ," Josh shares an extremely bizarre story about his senior year in college and the first job opportunity he ever got to work on an ornamental fish farm. This story goes off the rails quickly and the red flags are everywhere! Yet young 21 year old Josh was not to be dissuaded. Come along as Josh takes us back to 2010 as he details his email c...

In this episode, we interview two of the developers of Fish Game , Erin and Ryan Davis!  We talk to them about their lives and about how they came to be involved with this exciting and very realistic game. If you are looking for a realistic fish simulation game then this is the game for you. Enjoy our conversation as we nerd out about the intricacies of developing a fish videogame! We can’t even b...

In this episode, " Shark Myths ", the Gettin’ Fishy crew breaks down the shark-iest myths! Sharks are awesome and fearsome and the subject of many movies and shows. The problem with this is that not every creator does their research and rumors can spread quickly. Today we debunk the top myths in the shark world. Is the Megalodon still living? Can sharks smell blood from a mile away? Will...

In this episode, the Gettin’ Fishy With It crew dispels some popular fish myths! From tank size to fish memory to a whole lot about the concept of pain, we leave no stone unturned except we actually do…which is why you’ll see another episode about myths next month! Next up: shark and ray myths! This podcast is brought to you by the glass catfish, more specifically the ghost catfish or Kryptopterus...

In this episode, the crew looks back on 2024 and talks about their favorite episodes.  When you summarize it all, we had quite an adventure!  We attended and participated in a gaming convention, we appeared on a few science shows and we shared our knowledge at conferences. We had a ton of great guests as well! Conservation biologists, principal investigators, PhD students, science communicators an...

In this episode, " Australia New Zealand Association of Aquarium Professionals ," the crew is joined by Lauren Pandolfo and Cameron Mackey, two board members of the Australia New Zealand Association of Aquarium Professionals (ANZAAP). Lauren is the Zebrafish Genetics Core Director at Baylor University and Cameron is the Aquarium Facility Manager at the University of Melbourne. Although they both s...

In today's episode, "Fish in Space!" , the Gettin' Fishy Crew travel into the great beyond with Dr. Moiya McTier, astrophysicist, folklorist and host of the podcast Pale Blue Pod ! We chat about different “fish-stronauts” who have traveled to space for scientific purposes and we get to learn about some very interesting fish related folklore about the stars. Did you know that the mummichog was the...

In this week’s episode, " Fish Health for the Hobbyist (Part 2) with Dr. Nora Hickey and Jen Reynolds ," we continue the conversation with the lovely ladies of Fishkeep and Chill ! This time we dive even deeper into the topic of fish health, and lots of things that a hobbyist should know about to keep their fish happy and healthy! Please note that this episode miniseries is not a replacement for a...

In this week’s episode we get to know the lovely ladies of Fishkeep and Chill , an amazing website where you can go to learn more about our fishy friends! We learn about their education and careers and nerd out about all things fish!  The focus of the episode is on fish health and on how we can give our fish the best chance to have great lives. We discuss some important do’s and don’ts for fish ke...

In this episode, "Species Spotlight: Siamese Fighting Fish" , the crew breaks down the wild world of bettafish. The Siamese Fighting fish have a myriad of evolutionary adaptations and behaviors which help them survive in tough environments. We learn about how bettas became introduced into the hobby and that they have been cared by humans for over 1000 years!  Lastly, we learn about the research im...