The students have been eager to begin our trout book project since before Christmas break! This week in spite of the snow cancellations and delays, we were finally able to begin. So far this year, things have been going fairly well. We have not lost any more trout to Ich since the saltwater bath. Thankfully, we have managed to sustain 99 trout to date.
This morning, we noticed one trout had a tail hanging out of his mouth...Oops, 98 trout. It was distressing to some of the students that one trout would eat another trout. I attempted to explain that it is in their instinct to survive and apparently he needed more food. Several of the students tried to encourage me to try to catch that big fish and put him in the red basket so he does not eat any more. I too am concerned about the few trout that are smaller, but from my experience last year, catching the right big fish is much harder than catching the little ones. It is amazing to me to see the size variance in the tank. It is survival of the fittest at play. I may have to intervene and rescue the tiny tot who loves to hide under the air stone.
As we were working on our book today, one student wrote that the trout are mean because they fight over the food and eat each other. Not quite, the fish tales we wanted, but of course, something that impacted him first hand today.
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