Water Testing

Checking the water in the room tank has become quite the chore. Ammonia levels between 1.5 and 2 everyday have led to daily water changes. As soon as the new filter arrives, we will be transferring fish to a different aquarium with a larger capacity.

Tank Problems

The room tank is having major water quality issues, and the trout are going to get moved to a bigger tank as soon as a new filter arrives. I guess it is a good problem - they are growing really well and eating a lot!!!

Week of December 7th

Interesting stuff going on right now. The fry in the lab tank have really started to come up and start eating, and water quality is fantastic. They seem to be doing really well, just a little behind the fish in the room tank.

The room tank has started to see some water quality issues. We had to change 5 gallons of water on both Tuesday and Thursday due to elevated ammonia levels. Our pH has been good, but our ammonia is reading about 0.75 ppm. I think the extreme number of fish in the tank and the fact that they are really eating is causing the issues. Lots of food = lots of waste. Hopefully we get the tank stabilized soon.

Swim-up Fry

Pic with new underwater digital camera. Should make for some interesting shots this year in the trout tanks!!!

Tank in the classroom is doing great - fish have been actively feeding since before Thanksgiving. On average, they are getting fed 3-4 times daily. We do have some mortality taking place - the fry that don't fix their spines, etc. I have been leaving them in the tank until they perish.

The lab tank is a different story. Fish have been placed in the gravel since before Thanksgiving, but are not coming to the top to feed yet. I am guessing this is due to the lower water temps in the tank, but am starting to get a little worried. I have raised the temp the last several days to 57 to try and get the metabolism going.

We have swimmers!!

If you look right beside the chiller tube, you can see the tail of one of our brookies. This is in the tank in my classroom that is being kept a few degrees warmer. They seem much more active, and there are many fry that are starting to swim to the top. We have stated putting small amounts of food in the tank to begin the training process.

The fry in the lab are still in the basket, and not anywhere near as active. They are being transferred into the gravel today.

Genetic Mutation

While cleaning out the tank in the science lab yesterday, we discovered our first mutant of the year. A siamese twin that hatched but quickly perished. The fry developed two heads, but was attached at a single tail right behind the dorsal.

He has now been preserved in alcohol for future use!!

Hatch is Done

Fry in the lab tank... It appears as if most of our fish have hatched from the eggs. They are moving around quite a bit right now, especially the fish in the gravel already.

Interesting note already - we have taken a lot more dead fry out of the hatch basket than out of the gravel. I don't know if this is because we can't see some of the dead ones in the gravel, or if there is a significant difference in mortality. We will have to follow this closely...

Look close...fry in the classroom tank...

The Hatch is On...

After coming back to school this morning, we found about 1/3 to 1/2 of our eggs had hatched over the weekend. Mortality was low - only 7 eggs between the two tanks.

Fun watching the eggs hatch, as well as the little guys bouncing around in the tank. The fish in the gravel seem to be finding a niche in the gravel, as they have moved around a lot after hatching.

Already worried about casualties - going to put the protective netting on tomorrow for the intakes.

Trout are Here!!

Our brookies showed up with the UPS man at about 315 yesterday afternoon. I came back into school to sort eggs and place them in the proper aquariums.

Good egg counts - Tank in 317 - 355 eggs, Tank in lab - 331 eggs.

This is the egg sorting table. The bowl in the middle holds all of the eggs received, and they are then sorted by good/bad eggs.

Latest News

Just wanted to give an update. The trout eggs were shipped on Tuesday, November 3rd, so they should be arriving today or tomorrow.
A question was asked about our experiment this year - it is believed that the fish in the room tank, due to the warmer water, should grow a little bit faster. Most of us are not sure about the effect of putting the eggs in the gravel versus in the breeder bag.
Our ESP class is working with Mr. Cochran's TV Production class to create a video of our year in the life of TIC. So be sure to check back for future updates on the status of our video production.

Our Tanks

Original Tank - Located in science lab

Second Tank - located in my classroom

Tanks are Ready

Our tanks at the BJHS are up and ready to go. The chillers were tested earlier this year, and now we have one of the tanks set at 57 F, and the other is set at 52 F. This will be one of our variables this year, as we are going to do some experiments between the two tanks. The colder tank also will have the eggs placed in a net breeder, while the warmer tank will have the eggs placed directly into the gravel.

Other PA Trout

So let's take a look at other PA trout species:

Brown Trout (from the Little Juniata River)

Rainbow Trout (from the Connoquenessing Creek)

Golden Rainbow (from Thorn Creek)

Tiger Trout (from the Clarion River)

So what is a Brookie?

The brook trout is the only native trout species to Pennsylvania. I guess this is only partially true, as a brookie is not a true trout, but in the char family. Native to all of PA, it has slowly been pushed to the headwater streams by thermal pollution and competition from introduced brown and rainbow trout. This fish was caught from a small tributary to the Clarion River.

Release Site

Our release site last year was the Connoquenessing Creek in downtown Butler. This is approved trout water and located at the area known as the downtown athletic field.

This year we are scheduled to release all of our fingerlings in the Connoquenessing watershed, and might put some in the Connoquenessing tributaries.

Eggs have been Spawned

After receiving an e-mail from the Trout in the Classroom coordinator, Amidea Daniel, all participants in this year's TIC program were informed that our brook trout eggs were spawned September 30, 2009 at the Benner Spring Fish Culture Station. Eggs will be shipped November 3rd, and should be received either November 4th or 5th. Bring on the brookies!!!

Last Year's Results

A little bit of history from last year. We received 302 viable brook trout eggs from the PA Fish and Boat Commission last year. After making a release of fish in March to alleviate aquarium crowding conditions, we kept some fish until the end of May for a final release. Combined, 93 brookies were released into the Connoquenessing Creek in downtown Butler. Our largest fish, "Massive" taped out over 5 inches long when released!!

Welcome!

Welcome to the BJHS Trout in the Classroom blog. Here you will have the opportunity to witness the story of our brook trout from beginning til end. Please feel free to post any comments that you like, and I hope you enjoy the site!!