SOUTH LOOP — The man in charge of caring for Granddad the Australian lungfish is young enough to be his grandson.
Michael Masellis, a senior aquarist at Shedd Aquarium, is responsible for the care, upkeep and feeding of Granddad, who's been swimming at the Shedd since 1933 — giving him the title of the world's oldest living fish in any public aquarium.
"They're primitive fish," the 29-year-old Loyola University Chicago graduate said of Granddad and his Australian lungfish tankmates. "They're probably closely related to some of the first animals that walked out of the water. That's their claim to fame."
Justin Breen says Granddad might not move so fast anymore but he is a draw for the aquarium:
Australian lungfish have existed for about 100 million years. And although Granddad isn't nearly that old, he might have been around for the last century. A fully grown Granddad came to Shedd 81 years ago as part of the opening of Chicago's World's Fair that year.
He's never left, living off a food supply of fruits and vegetables including peas, carrots, red grapes and lettuce, plus fish that include herring, smelt, capelin and silversides, with krill and meat mixed in. Granddad, who celebrated his 80th birthday at the Shedd with an aquatic cake last year, also dines on a green gel that comes in bars that Masellis chops into cubes for easy consumption.
Masellis has worked at the aquarium for seven years and has monitored Granddad — who's four feet long and about 20 pounds — and other Rivers Gallery animals for the last six months. In addition to the three-times-a-week feedings for Granddad, Masellis also gets in the exhibit to clean it.
"The lungfish are very curious," Masellis said. "They'll come right up to you and bump into you."
But for the most part during a feeding Tuesday, Granddad and his companions hung out at the bottom of the tank, which is consistent behavior for a lungfish. Granddad did come up for air once over the course of an hour, as Australian lungfish are one of the few fish that can breathe out of water.
Granddad might have helped produce children in his pre-Shedd life, but breeding efforts at the aquarium have never been fruitful.
Still, Masellis believes Granddad has enjoyed a pretty good existence in captivity.
"He's pretty easygoing and he lives a relaxed life," Masellis said.
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