Fish Colony

We maintain an active indoor breeding colony of Brachyhypopomus gauderio, a South American weakly electric fish. We also maintain an outdoor breeding colony at the Biology Department's Aquatic Research Facility during warmer months from May-October. Bracyhypopomus gauderio are easily bred in captivity, giving us ready access to animals at all stages of development.

Our indoor facility houses three recirculating aquarium racks that can hold up to 30 5-gallon tanks each. System parameters like conductivity, pH, temperature are monitored around the clock. Lights are turned on and off according to a seaonal table that tracks outdoor lighting conditions.

We also keep wild-caught populations of Eigenmannia virescens, another species that we study intensively.

Larger fish or large groups of socially gregarious species like Eigenmannia can be housed in a separate recirculating system with two 75-gallon tanks.