Trout Trouble :(

Patiently waiting to feed fry.

October making egg baskets... getting ready for eggs!

Sac Fry in egg baskets!!

 In October we had made  larger egg baskets to help spread out the eggs to prevent bacteria from spreading in an attempt to decrease mortality rates of the eggs. The baskets worked well. We lost very few during this stage of the life cycle. The students asked almost daily when we could begin to feed. I kept assuring them once the sac fry lost the yolk sac we would begin feeding small amounts. About 10 trout began to swim out of the baskets so we lowered all the fry to  the gravel at the bottom of the tank just before Christmas break.Our trout were doing so well before Christmas break... some had just begun to swim and look for food. The students were patiently waiting to be able to feed. As I went in to check on them 3 separate times  over  the 10 day break I began to find a number of trout dying... since then we have lost all . This was very difficult for the students. Our water quality parameters test fine within normal .25 ammonia 0 nitrites and 5 ppm Nitrates. We did experience a rise in pH to 8 so I changed out 6 gallons of water in an attempt to lower it, but I am at a loss as to what has caused the die off. Some other schools  are experiencing similar results. The trout looked ill to me. They were not interested in feeding and they were covered with a fungus that began at the tail. After speaking with our Trout in the Classroom  contact she explained the timing of their development and Christmas break this year did not allow for the fry to establish a feeding routine prior to the break which made them more susceptible to bacteria without them having a strong enough immune system established. In years past, the trout had been feeding continuously for at least 10 days to 2 weeks prior to break. This year ours had only been eating around 3 days prior to break.  The students were so excited to hear that we will be receiving another group of fry next week. Please pray we can keep some alive until May 16, 2013. The students were so worried that we would not have any trout to release.

On a brighter note, the students have been working hard on our book project. I can't wait to submit the final draft later this month. Below is the cover page for the book...