Once a week the sand filters on the exhibit tanks are backwashed. Animals that require live food are fed at this time. When the routine maintenance is completed, she returns to the food prep room to prepare the cut-mix of fish and shrimp for the afternoon feeding. If she is covering for another aquarist she goes through a similar routine in another gallery. Once a month an inventory is taken of all the animals in her gallery.
Any spare time is spent reading research articles to keep up with advances in husbandry science.
New animals or animals with special dietary needs, such as the turtles, are fed individually. The Maryland aquarist is also responsible for collecting and stocking all the plants and fishes for the exhibits in her gallery. In a typical year she organizes and participates in seining and electrofishing trips, plant collecting and a trip to a pound netter.