Marine biology major spends summer at Shedd Aquarium

Junior Josh Tellier’s love of fish landed him a coveted internship at Chicago’s famed John G. Shedd Aquarium this summer.

As a fish intern, Tellier, a marine biology major at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, works behind the scenes caring for new fish brought to the Shedd for eventual placement in the public collections.

“Before we add them to the collections, we want to make sure they’re disease-free,” Tellier said. “The fish need to be healthy when we introduce them to the other fish.”

Fish care at the aquarium includes feeding and tank cleaning. Tellier spends his days at the Shedd making sure new fish are eating well and swimming in clean water.

Aquarium care is nothing new to Tellier. The North Prairie native has worked for the last seven years at Aquatic Emporium - The Fish Store in Waukesha as a freshwater specialist. His tasks included feeding, tank cleaning and maintaining tank water quality.

“I’ve always been interested in keeping fish and aquariums, in particular,” Tellier said. He hopes to eventually work at a large aquarium, which is why he jumped at the opportunity to do an unpaid internship in downtown Chicago.

“It’s a blast,” Tellier said. “I can go around and look at the fish anytime I want.”

Some of the fish Tellier is caring for are bosemani rainbow from Australia and paddlefin wrasse found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. “It’s just awesome to work with so many kinds of fish,” he said.

Tellier works from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday through Monday, and said there is always a lot of work to do and a lot of fish to feed. He is one of 30 summer interns helping keep the aquarium running around the clock every day.

“I would definitely recommend an internship like this to others,” Tellier said. “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”