We just began feeding our trout the food from the second bag marked 2. I wonder if it will help our trout grow even more. At this time, they're about two inches long. We picked some up and touched them today and noticed that they feel really slimy. We decided that was to help protect them in some way, bt we need to research more on what the exact function is.
We were so excited to get so many responses after the USA Today article! Feel free to comment and follow our blog. More pictures and videos will be coming next week.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thankful for an Automatic Feeder
During these snow days, I and my class are so thankful for our automatic feeder. Instead of worrying about if our trout are okay, we know they are doing fine.
When we tested our water on Tuesday, the nitrite level was at 0 parts per million, while the nitrate levels were at 0.25 parts per million. The nitrites eventually turn into nitrates. They are both harmful to the fish at higher levels. I change the tank water every Thursday (which is another reason I'm so happy I've been getting so many Trout Team applications!!!), so I'm anxious to see what the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels will be on Monday. I think they'll be fine, but I think we should start graphing our results to see if we notice any trends.
When we tested our water on Tuesday, the nitrite level was at 0 parts per million, while the nitrate levels were at 0.25 parts per million. The nitrites eventually turn into nitrates. They are both harmful to the fish at higher levels. I change the tank water every Thursday (which is another reason I'm so happy I've been getting so many Trout Team applications!!!), so I'm anxious to see what the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels will be on Monday. I think they'll be fine, but I think we should start graphing our results to see if we notice any trends.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
First Article
I had a family member let me know that they had found an article about our Trout in the Classroom project that I had no idea about. Click Fox 19 to go to the article. A reporter will be in our classroom tomorrow, so be sure to be ready to answer good questions!
If the above link doesn't work, the URL for the Fox 19 article is http://erlanger-independence.fox19.com/content/white-s-tower-elementary-students-are-growing-trout-classroom.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Fighting Fish
Many things have happend in the last week with the trout. We got the tank pretty well cleaned by changing 60 gallons of water last week. If you think about it, we only have a 55-gallon tank, so that's a LOT of water! Our pH level, ammonia level, nitrites and nitrates are all right on par.
Most of the fish are a really pretty silver color, but three were very, very dark, and also very small. Rainbow Trout turn dark like that when they are distressed, so we had three very sick fish. I caught two of them in the net so that they would be enclosed for a minute while I put some food in the net to try to get them to eat, but to no avail. Those three were also floating like they had no control and would swim sideways. We thought one had passed last Wednesday, but when I caught it in the net it started flapping so we kept it in the tank. Then on Friday, one had died. I also just fished out one of the other small fish. The last dark fish is getting just a little bit bigger, but I don't hold out much hope. It's the survival of the fittest being observed right in our own classroom. While sad, it's still very interesting. The kids love making predictions about the fish!
We are starting to see very pretty fish. The pattern on the sides are starting to show, and every once in a while it looks like you can see the lateral line that is pink. Maybe we're just looking too hard. We did a lesson on trout anatomy last week and the kids learned that the lateral line is the trout's way of hearing others through vibrations. Since fish don't have ears, they feel the vibrations with their side, while humans feel them with their eardrums that signal a nerve to tell the brain that something was heard. The kids think that is so cool! We also learned about the function of all the fins and other structures of the trout.
The Kentucky Enquirer is sending a reporter to the classroom tomorrow to watch Ms. Leffler's fifth grade class learn a lesson about trout survival. We are very thankful for this opportunity and can't wait to see the article!
Most of the fish are a really pretty silver color, but three were very, very dark, and also very small. Rainbow Trout turn dark like that when they are distressed, so we had three very sick fish. I caught two of them in the net so that they would be enclosed for a minute while I put some food in the net to try to get them to eat, but to no avail. Those three were also floating like they had no control and would swim sideways. We thought one had passed last Wednesday, but when I caught it in the net it started flapping so we kept it in the tank. Then on Friday, one had died. I also just fished out one of the other small fish. The last dark fish is getting just a little bit bigger, but I don't hold out much hope. It's the survival of the fittest being observed right in our own classroom. While sad, it's still very interesting. The kids love making predictions about the fish!
We are starting to see very pretty fish. The pattern on the sides are starting to show, and every once in a while it looks like you can see the lateral line that is pink. Maybe we're just looking too hard. We did a lesson on trout anatomy last week and the kids learned that the lateral line is the trout's way of hearing others through vibrations. Since fish don't have ears, they feel the vibrations with their side, while humans feel them with their eardrums that signal a nerve to tell the brain that something was heard. The kids think that is so cool! We also learned about the function of all the fins and other structures of the trout.
The Kentucky Enquirer is sending a reporter to the classroom tomorrow to watch Ms. Leffler's fifth grade class learn a lesson about trout survival. We are very thankful for this opportunity and can't wait to see the article!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Update, Special News
I would like to start by saying that I had nightmares about the health of our trout over winter break! Last night I couldn't hardly sleep, and as soon as I got to school my worst (almost worst) fears had come true... our filter became unplugged by yours truly on December 22nd so I could clean the filter, and I guess I never plugged it back in. The water was green.. and stinky! Luckily, we only lost about 10-15 fish, and we were going to lose some of the fish due to competition over food, so I feel a lot better. I changed 10 gallons of the water this morning, and 15 gallons this afternoon to make for a total of 25 gallons of water changed today, which is roughly half our tank. I'm going to do this for a few more days until our water is a little more clear.
The fish are really growing. We learned about the external anatomy of the trout today, including the fins (pectoral, pelvic, anal, dorsal, caudel, and adipose), eyes, gils, and lateral line. The lateral line is by far the most interesting according to the students. It's a line that goes from the gils to the end of the fish. It is a really pretty pinkish color on the Rainbow Trout. This line senses vibrations, which people interpret as sounds. It's lateral line hears things around it! We made this point by having students close their eyes and having someone walk around the room talking, while the person whose eyes were closed pointed to where they were in the room. When a person talks, it shakes the air molecules, which in the ear shakes the eardrum, and the little tiny hairs touch the nerve in the ear which tells the brain that you've heard something. This is what the lateral line does with a fish, so instead of hearing a neighbor through ears, it "hears" it through it's lateral line!
Applications for the Trout Team will be going home this week to fifth graders that are interested.
Pictures to come soon!
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