Steven has been keeping freshwater aquariums for as long as he can remember, but did not start with saltwater fish until 1993 during his junior year of college. Upon returning from school, he was fortunate enough to reside only a short five-minute drive from Poseidon's Living Treasures, Anthony Calfo's greenhouse propagation facility. It was here that he gained a tremendous resource of information and inspiration.

Steven Pro is currently the proprietor of Pro Aquatic Services Company, an aquarium sales and maintenance business in Pennsylvania. He has long been active in the retail and hobby sides of the ornamental aquatics industry. He has taken an active and impassioned role in the industry as a member of the Pittsburgh Marine Aquarium Society, Inc. for the past seven years, having also been elected to the Board of Directors for the last five years. Steven is also a member of the greater Pittsburgh Aquarium Society, Inc. (the local freshwater club), as well as previously serving a one-year stint on the Board of Directors of the American Marinelife Dealers Association.

You may have seen his name before if you ever visit the aquatic information website WetWebMedia , as he previously answered some of the emailed daily questions along with friends Anthony Calfo and site host Robert Fenner. Eventually, the demands of family and business became too great, and he had to "retire" from the WetWebMedia crew, but he is still active on its message board.

Steven currently maintains a 120-gallon reef tank, a 1500-gallon freshwater pond, a 75-gallon winter home for turtles (when they aren't out in the pond), as well as numerous smaller tanks scattered throughout his house (much to the chagrin of his wife) which are used for quarantining livestock for customers. His previous 55-gallon reef tank (which was taken down around the first of 2003 to make room for the 120) is profiled on the Pittsburgh Marine Aquarium Society, Inc.'s website . There is a good deal of husbandry information located there and should provide insight into his aquarium keeping philosophy.

ABSTRACT

Practical Advice on Marine Fish Ailments:

Identification and Treatment from a Hobbyist's Perspective

While I have had the pleasure of attending some great presentations by respected individuals in the field of fish pathology such as Drs. Ed Noga, Beverly Dixon, and Robert Goldstein all of these talks have centered around treating diseases from a scientific background.  They all encouraged the use of microscopes, skin scrapings, staining, and when things failed, necropsy.  While this would be ideal in a perfect world, this approach is beyond what most hobbyists have available to them in means of materials, references, and experience.  In my presentation, I intend to stress the importance of eliminating possibilities and making educated guesses in identifying and treating the various ailments we see in marine ornamental fish.  But, at the same time, I will focus on and encourage the use of scientifically proven treatments above and beyond anecdotal hobby cures.