Donston, Patrick

Patrick has worked within the Aquatics industry for the past 25 years as a retailer, in wholesale, and an AZA accredited public aquarium. He holds an MS degree in Zoology specializing in Ichthyology. Noted for writing and publishing numerous articles on aquarium keeping and business best practices, he is a frequent speaker at industry events and aquarium societies around the US. He presently owns and operates Absolutely Fish, a MAC certified facility and “Retailer of the Year” 2003/2004. Working on his first book, he is also an aquatics blogger for Pet Product News. Subjects range from freshwater and marine fish husbandry to operating an aquatics facility.  Subjects range from freshwater and marine fish husbandry to operating an aquatics facility Patrick is one of the founding members of CRAAG (Coral Reef and Aquarium Advisory Group), an organization built to help stores develop forefront facilities with responsible management systems. He also engineered and implemented the “Freshwater Fishes of the World Campaign”, a program designed to expose children and students to the wonderful world of fish keeping at the Paterson Charter School of Science. Twelve different biotopes were donated for educating students on the biology, geography, and science of waters around the world. Our staff was intricately involved from top to bottom with all setups and presentations to students. This is one of our proudest accomplishments!  Absolutely Fish is one of the first C.A.R.E.S. (http://www.caresforfish.org) stores, having several species of endangered cichlids in stock for sale. You can read more about Absolutely Fish at http://www.absolutelyfish.com. Programs: Stronger Fish – Healthy Aquariums Biodiversity Practices for Reef and Planted Exhibits Biodiversity Practices for Reefs Setting Up a Marine Aquarium with Spare Freshwater Equipment