Hudson High School graduate explores life aquatic

by Judy Stringer

A Hudson High School graduate is bringing a new, more lighthearted meaning to the phrase, “swimming with the fishes.”

2018 graduate Skylar Miller has taken up residence at the Ohio Fish Rescue, a Strongsville-based outfit that takes care of surrendered aquatic wildlife and a variety of land walkers. 

Miller, an avid boater and fisherwoman, worked with the rescue on and off for several years before jumping in full time in 2023. 

“I have a soft spot for [just] about any animal,” she said. “It’s really exciting to see what comes in and be a part of nurturing animals other people can’t care for anymore.”

Ohio Fish Rescue is home to more than 2,000 fish and a total of about 500 different wildlife species, according to Rich Price, who started taking in wayward fish with his son, Josh, five years ago.

“We have 200,000 gallons [of tank capacity] all together,” Price said. “Most fish here were sold in a pet store and outgrew their [home] tank.”

Other marine life comes from owners who are moving or aging, he said. That’s especially true of the rescue’s extensive koi collection.   

“It’s not uncommon for one person in the couple to be the caretaker of something like a koi pond and when they are gone, the spouse doesn’t have that same level interest or ability,” Price explained.

Price runs the operation out of his west side residence where dozens of tanks – some as large as 3,000 and 4,000 gallons – gold fish, clownfish, puffers, bass, sturgeon, gars, stingrays, eels, sea turtles and just about any other kind of marine life one can name. Miller said lungfish are the only animal onsite that requires a permit “because they are endangered.”

In addition, a converted, enclosed pool serves as a 58,000-gallon “predator pond,” home to a six-foot arapaima named “Brutus” and a dozen other oversized, and rare, predatory fish. 

“Many people think Brutus is scary, but I swim with him all the time,” Miller quipped.

The care extends outside the home as well. Price and his son have created outdoor koi ponds, for example, and an enclosure that allows Ohio Fish Rescue’s three resident tortoises to get outside on warm days. The rescue has fostered wallabies, groundhogs and even a 14-foot python – all of which has been rehomed via the rescue’s network of YouTube followers.

As for the fish, Price and his son regularly work with aquariums and zoos across the county to find permanent homes. Stingrays are the only species the rescue intentionally buys for resell “to help cover expenses,” Price said.

“Every four to five months, we get babies and grow them up,” he said.

Price also sells and/or auctions donated tanks, which often come with surrendered fish or from people who watch the rescue’s online content. The rescue currently has two donated aquariums which were made for the Animal Planet’s reality show “Tanked,” including one built for NBA star Dwight Howard’s fish and red-tailed boa constrictors.

“We also donate tanks to wounded vets, hospitals, churches, etc.,” he said. “We recently drove a 180-gallon tank up to Michigan and donated it to a minister to have in the room where he counsels kids.”

Price also prides himself on gifting upgraded tanks to people on the edge of giving up overgrown fish, “so they can afford to keep them.”

Miller and Price urge anyone considering fish to do their research.

“If you see a fish you like at a pet store, go on your phone and see how big it can get,” Price said.

Visit ohiofishrescue.com for more information or to donate to its cause. ∞

Photo: Skylar Miller, a 2018 Hudson High School graduate, helps nurture surrendered fish and other wildlife at Ohio Fish Rescue in Strongsville. Photo by J. Stringer.