Third Time Is A Charm!

I am almost hesitant to say that the trout are doing well in fear of jinxing myself... We received a new shipment of 69 fry to add to our tank...Bunny Princess is still alive and well swimming in her own red basket floating at the top of the tank. My first grade class insisted we provide her protection since she has endured so much so far being the only fry to survive ich. She is much smaller than the trout we received and would most likely be eaten by some of the larger fry.

 We have placed a cover over half of the tank to provide the trout with some type of  hiding place and provide less stress on the fish as the tank is in the lobby and the constant motion by the tank stresses the fish which in turn can create water quality issues. We are hopeful to keep this bunch alive until May 16. It thrilled my heart to hear the students talking in front of the tank saying which trout was "their" trout and sharing the names that they had chosen for their trout. Hopefully, the third time is the charm!

Survival of the fittest!! ...Bunny Princess LIVES!

So much has happened since my last post...We have encountered another round of ich! I spent 4 hours Saturday at the school giving the remaining living trout a salt bath in an attempt to keep some alive. On Monday, the students were glad to see one survived the process and is holding her own. She has been named Bunny Princess by one of my first graders who announced Monday that the only fish living was her fish Bunny Princess!

 

I contacted JHS's Ag. teacher Mrs. Morgan to find out how their fish were since we do our release together. At that point she had 80 fish. Sad to say she also has encountered ich and has lost most of her fish. I stopped at the high school to  discuss what I had learned about bathing the fish in salt. She now has 5 fish surviving.

 

We contacted the PFBC and found out the fish at the hatchery have ich as well and it is a systemic problem throughout TIC this year. They agreed to send more fish, but they will also have ich. It appears this year, we will be learning about the diseases fish get and how to treat them...Hopefully, we will have a few to release in May...It truly is a learning process!! Stay tuned!

Fish Tales!

  

The students were so excited today  to become

Published Authors and Illustrators  in 2013

Fish Tales!

Today our book came! The students were so excited to actually hold a book written and illustrated by our class! Each student wrote and illustrated a nonfiction and fiction story about our Trout in the Classroom Program and trout.

Water Chemistry



Testing Water Quality...

The students enjoyed checking the water quality parameters to help make sure our water is perfect for our trout. Today's test results: 7.8 pH; 0 Ammonia; 0 Nitrates; and 0 Nitrites with water temperature 51.9 degrees. We have lost a few fish here and there. Currently we have 44 healthy fry.

checking pH, ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites...

all within normal ranges!

Trout Training!

 

Day one in the tank... feeding time...

Couldn't resist checking in on our new little ones! I was worried about our new trout making a smooth transition and really afraid not to check in on them. Hopefully, my mind will ease. Thankfully, I found them eagerly awaiting some food. It did not take them long to figure out where the food gathers in the tank. It tends to collect in the back right corner and look where the majority tend to hang out waiting for their next meal! Two days in and they are trained already! Amazing!



Day two... feeding time...





They discovered the food gathers in the top right corner!



Still accumulating a little ice ... but temp holding 53 today

If at first you don't succeed....fry, fry again!

Trout arrive as students dismiss!

Thank You PFBC for putting the smiles back!

The students were so excited today when our shipment of fry came from the hatchery! We placed the bag in the aquarium to allow the temperature to acclimate.  Tomorrow morning when the students arrive the fry should be swimming free in the tank!  I placed them in the tank this evening. Hopefully they will be alive and well in the morning. I have been having a little difficulty with the chiller. It has been accumulating ice. I have tried to change the parameters on the thermostat to see if I can resolve the problem without much success so far. The tank temperature is holding at 51 degrees, but it continues to accumulate ice. I hope we can keep this group of trout alive. The students are eager to feed the fish!

Happily swimming in their new home!

So far, so good...stay tuned!

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...