Elements and Performance Criteria

RANGE STATEMENT
The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.
OHS risks when handling animals may include:
animal bites, envenomation, kicks, scratches and crush injuries
biological hazardous waste and sharps disposal
handling of chemicals and medicines
gas leakage
inhalation of aerosol particles
intraocular contamination
manual handling, including carrying, lifting and shifting
needle pricks and cuts from other sharps
release of infective agents (animal and human)
slippery or uneven work surfaces
zoonoses.
Disease agents may include:
infectious disease agents:
bacteria
fungi
internal and external parasites
virus
non-infectious disease agents:
allergies
chemical toxicities
metabolic
neoplastic
nutritional
physical trauma.
Zoonotic diseases may include:
bacterial and endo-parasites (e.g. protozoa)
different types of salmonella infections.
Signs of unhealthy or injured animals may include:
abnormal faeces colour, texture quantity
blisters or other skin lesions, dead or peeling skin
clamping of fins and tail with presence of blood streaks
difficulty breathing
difficulty in sloughing old skins
irregular colouration on shell
loss of righting behaviour
one or both eyes protruding
presence of parasites on skin surface or trailing from body cavities
swelling
wounds.
Signs of abnormal behaviour may include:
aggression or docility (depending on animal)
inappetence
lethargy.
Water sampling tests and analysis may include:
ammonia
calcium
hardness
pH
salinity
temperature.
Water quality adjustment may involve:
correcting chemical imbalances
partial water change
raising or lowering of pH or hardness.
Parasitic infestations may include:
anchor worm
fish lice
flukes
parasitic protozoa.
Viral, fungal and bacterial diseases may include:
body fungus
dropsy
fin and tail rot
mouth fungus.
Aquatic animal treatments may be administered via:
dips and bathes
food and water preparations
liquids
pastes
soluble powers
tablet
topical applications.
Preventative medicine programs may include:
anti-parasitic water treatments
food preparations.

EVIDENCE GUIDE
The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
The evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to workplace operations and satisfy all of the requirements of the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge and the range statement of this unit. Assessors should ensure that candidates can:
monitor and maintain effective aquatic animal health-management practices in accordance with organisational policies and procedures
comply with relevant legislation, regulations and codes of practice, including animal welfare and OHS
identify aquatic animals showing signs of poor health, injuries or abnormal behaviour
administer authorised aquatic animal treatments and implement preventative medicine programs
collect and test water samples and adjust water quality to suit the aquascape and species requirements as required
maintain records and required documentation.

The skills and knowledge required to maintain aquascapes and aquatic animals must be transferable to a range of work environments and contexts and include the ability to deal with unplanned events.

Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment of this unit is to be practical in nature and will most appropriately be assessed in an aquaria services workplace or in a situation that reproduces normal work conditions.

There must be access to a range of aquatic animal breeds and species as well as the appropriate equipment and/or resources to enable one to demonstrate competence.

Method of assessment
To ensure consistency in one's performance, competency should be demonstrated, to industry defined standards, on more than one occasion over a period of time in order to cover a variety of circumstances and where possible, over a number of assessment activities.

The assessment strategy must include practical skills assessment. Suggested strategies for this unit are:
written and/or oral assessment of candidate's required knowledge
observed, documented and first-hand testimonial evidence of candidate's application of practical tasks
simulation exercises that reproduce normal work conditions
third-party evidence
workplace documentation
portfolio.

This unit may be assessed in a holistic way with other units of competency relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role.

Guidance information for assessment
Assessment methods should reflect workplace demands (e.g. literacy and numeracy demands) and the needs of particular target groups (e.g. people with disabilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, people with a language background other than English, youth and people from low socioeconomic backgrounds).