Meet Biota's Todd Gardner

I got to sit down with my friend and colleague Todd Gardner to hear more about his career and life. Gardner has a wealth of experience that has made him one of the most successful marine ornamental fish breeders in the world. As a hobby marine fish breeder, I first attended one of his presentations about 10 years ago. He spoke in language that I could understand as a hobbyist, but it was clear that his mastery of aquatic biology is bordering on the supernatural. He has always been at the forefront of aquaculture, developing techniques that he is happy to share for the advancement of aquaculture and raising species that no one else could before him. He genuinely enjoys helping young people and adults appreciate and interact with the natural world in ethical ways. I've had the pleasure of speaking with him about our interests over the years, and I would argue that he is among the most brilliant and passionate marine fish breeders today.

Gardner completed his BS in Marine Biology in 1993 from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania and his MS in Biology in 2004 from Hofstra University. His Master’s Thesis was titled “The copepod/Artemia tradeoff in the captive culture of Hippocampus erectus. He’s been breeding marine fish for nearly 40 years; working for aquaculture titans like C-Quest, the Long Island Aquarium, and The Biota Group. Gardner is also an Aquaculture/Marine Biology professor at Carteret Community College and formerly at Suffolk Community College.

Can you tell us what made you choose marine ornamental fish breeding as a passion and career?

“Like any other 13 year old, I loved critters. Dinosaurs, bugs, fish…for most kids that love fades, but the adults in my life were supportive, they didn’t try to steer me toward other interests like soccer or something. In 4th grade I had fish tanks, birds, terrariums in my bedroom. But the capture of my first seahorse when I was in 5th grade was such a magical experience for me, I set up a much better saltwater tank, and I have had saltwater tanks ever since.”

What makes you choose the species you breed?

“Often it’s opportunity, like a fish spawned in the lab, or someone has a fish spawning and asks if we want to raise them. When opportunity coincides with demand, it’s beautiful. Sometimes it’s a calculated decision – ‘this fish needs to be raised,’ and we take it up. There is a need to produce Banggai cardinals, and we’re making a concerted effort to do that. Of course, another beautiful thing is that sometimes it’s just pure passion. Like the candy bass, that was a lifelong dream of mine. That was something I was determined to raise because I love the fish, and I love the larvae. Once the Cuban Basslet was discovered, it became a crusade to get it and breed it. Getting the connections, the permits – that was 5 years in the making, bringing that all together.”

What breeding successes are you most proud of?

An uninterrupted production stream of Royal Gramma, Cuban Basslets, and Peppermint shrimp for the last 4 years. In the past, they haven’t been available as captive bred without a break. Having a steady flow of captive bred Royal Gramma and Peppermint Shrimp is really a bigger deal than having a one time success of a higher value species. That steady flow of staple species in the industry is more important.”

What species do you dream of breeding in the future?

“I never really got to do much with angelfish, even though flatheads and candy bass are just as difficult; I dream of raising any angelfish just to watch them come through. 

The fish I want more than anything right now to get a hold of and get a crack at breeding is probably the Bladefin Basslet Jeboehlkia gladifer. I have a drawing of it from Nori Vossen that I look at every day to remind me that I have a mission to get a hold of and breed that fish. It’s a basslet, and I love basslets; it obviously won’t have mass appeal, but it’s a fish that has sold for $10k. It’s a high value fish because of its rarity. Part of the appeal for me – if it was an Indo pacific fish I wouldn’t be interested in it – is knowing that fish is out there, in the Atlantic, and probably could be found on some of my deep dives off the coast of North Carolina. So for me part of the appeal is the mission, getting out and finding that fish myself. I want to get more native North Carolina species and get them into production.”

When you’re not breeding fish, what do you like to do?

“One thing that makes me happiest in the whole world is my son Finn, and I’m most proud of being a dad to him because he’s awesome and amazing, and nothing can compare to the love you have for your child. 

Scuba definitely complements my work nicely, I use the breeding sometimes as an excuse to spend some money on Scuba. The diving obviously is my, if we consider it a hobby, my number one hobby, but I also kind of lump it into my life’s work and career. I’m also out collecting specimens and video to help augment my classes. The other big thing is music, I love playing music. I love running, running is like speed hiking for me. I just love getting out and into nature. I love my chickens and my plants. I have more plants than fish in my house.”

Any advice for aspiring fish breeders?

“Yes! My number one piece of advice is don’t get hung up on whether a fish has been bred before. Don’t take on the idea that you’re too good for something because it’s been done or because it’s too easy. And do it for love, if you can make money on it down the road, great, but if you’re not doing it for the pure love of it, do something else. If people get into this specifically to make money on it, they’re going to be disappointed. Life is too short to not be doing the things that you love.”