Born and raised in NYC, Dr. Tepper went to Europe to study veterinary medicine, graduating with honors from the University de Liege in Brussels, Belgium in 1976. Returning that year to NYC, he began practicing and held a special interest in birds and exotic animals. He worked at and owned the Shirley Veterinary Hospital, Shirley, NY from 1978- 2009. After many requests from clients, he opened the Long Island Fish Hospital in 1998 to care for the health of pet fish. Dr. Tepper served as Treasurer of the International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine from 2006- 09, as an Officer on the Executive Board of the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association (WAVMA) since its formation in 2006 through 2012, and as President in 2011. He was honored by WAVMA in 2012 as one of five to be named as a Fellow. In 2013, he was certified by WAVMA as an aquatic veterinarian (CertAqV). He has been a member of the Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians, Association of Avian Veterinarians, the AVMA and state and local veterinary associations. With a special interest in ponds, watergardens and koi, Dr. Tepper developed a phytoremedial device for water quality improvement and received a U.S. patent for this invention. These are currently in use in ponds, watergardens and in quarantine and treatment tanks for koi. Dr. Tepper has authored many papers on fish health and pondkeeping, as well as being an author and co-editor for the textbook “Fundamentals of Aquatic Veterinary Medicine” (Wiley, 2022).