CURRENT Events....

New York State is considering a ban on phosphorus in dishwashing and other detergents, do to the impact of this mineral on streams and lakes. For more info, check this out.

The Town of Ithaca is considering new rules to limit construction and development along streams. Is this a good idea? What do you think?? (Find more info at http://www.town.ithaca.ny.us/setback.htm)

Feeding Time Update

All of our trout are doing wonderfully well.  I raised the temp by 2 degrees to encourage more growth.  We also participated in the live feeding experiment of zooplankton the week before break.  I have some great video clips that I would like to upload if anyone knows how to import these.  I have made many attempts to update my drivers, etc, but the video file cannot be read by a PC because of the .VRO string attached to the file.  The experiment was an exciting opportunity for students to observe some trout behavior.

Most students were accurately describe the features of the trout.  They either listed the parts (head, tail, etc), colorizations and red gills during eating time.

Students felt that the trout were mostly scared or nervous and stayed pretty still.  Some groups had  active trout and were observed swimming around fast in circles.

Hypothesis:  Most groups felt that their trout would quickly eat the zooplankton once they recognized it.  Two groups had the hypothesis that the trout would not know what the zooplankton was so they would not eat it.

Results:  All the groups reported that they observed the trout actively feeding, chasing the zooplankton and swimming fast.  Although some groups over counted (by a lot) at times the number of zooplankton that was really consumed by the fish and as a result this threw off some numbers.  Some groups numbers were too high because they miscounted an aggressive action by the fish as eating.  However, this was a fantastic test for the students to participate in and they are still talking about it today.

Busy Week!

Hi everyone, and welcome back from break!
The week before break was a busy one- we conducted feeding experiments at all six schools, and I think we got some very interesting results, which I will try to post in the next few days. Many trout seemed to respond to our zooplankton and begin feeding; others did not. Does anyone have specific results to share?

I would also like to thank Colleen Kearns, from Cornell's Department of Evolutionary Biology & Ecology, and Michael Lenetsky from Trout Unlimited for their tremendous help. We had a great time, and I know they are awaiting any questions form the classes!

Check out a slideshow from our experiment at Boynton on the sidebar to the right (just click on the picture), and the movie from Groton, below!

Bill F.

Great Week

Our third grade class would like to send a very special "THANKS" to Ms. Rubin and her class at CHE who graciously donated  trout to our classroom.  Our class was touched by this and wanted to let you know how much we appreciate it.  Speedy and others are doing great and Mr. Brooks will be going over there everyday over break to check in on them.   

Bill and our mentor, Rich, came out to Enfield on Wednesday to perform an experiment with Daphnia and trout feeding behavior.  This was a wonderful time full of great questions and interactions between students, trout and our mentors.  We've put together a video and we are hopeful it will be uploaded soon.   

Thanks,

Mr. Brooks' Class

Feeding Time

Today Bill came to Groton with a great activity to test feeding behavior in our young trout. At this point our trout have only seen the supplied fish food which we've sprinkled on top. We were testing whether or not the fish would instinctively recognize live daphnia as prey or not.

update from South Hill

Our approx. 20 fish are getting quite big...some more than an inch...very active and feisty. They love the larger size of food! pH remains 8, ammonia 1, nitrate 0, nitrite 1. We are adding Stress Zyme weekly still (almost out...!) and nitrate's don't seem to be coming along.

In class we're doing bacteria investigations around the classroom and one group wanted to see if a deceased trout carried anything....and here you have it. It wasn't as bad as some of my counter-tops. Ewww.

Time for Some Fresh Food!


Exciting activities are in store for the coming months- first up is our living food experiment. Colleen Kearns from Cornell's Lab of Evolutionary Biology & Ecology is ready to bring in zooplankton samples for trout feeding experiments. (Daphnia pulex is pictured to the right. Click on the image for a video link!) Will our trout recognize living food? What will affect their feeding rate? We need to schedule classes anytime after January 25 and before the winter break, so please contact me.


We'll have a chance to study the plankton, themselves, and get up-close and personal with the foodweb. It a great opportunity for projects that your students might want to share at upcoming events, such as Ithaca Fishing Day, in late March, or Earthday. There is even talk of creating a marching aquatic foodweb for the Earthday and Ithaca Festival parades!


Finally, we're seeing some high mortality rat a couple of schools. From what I've read, this is not unusual- and the benefit of having a network of schools is that we can help each other out. So, if any class feels they can spare a few trout fry, I will be available to facilitate the re-adoption process. Let's share the wealth!


-Bill

Enfield Update

Hey All,

 We meant to write an update last week but most of us have been devastated by the loss of fish during break.  Everything in the tank was running properly and the water readings were great.  I came in the day before xmas eve to feed the fish only to find a major fish loss.  The filter stopped working which caused the ammonia levels to soar off the charts.  It took several days to get the ammonia levels down and get the filter operating.  We would gladly accept any other donations of fish from schools who might think they will have too many for the size of the tank 

We completed some sketching, colorization and trout identification in the U.S. with Mr.  Brooks and Mr. Andrews twice before break.  Currently, we have about 10 fish left.  They are well over an inch (we measured them through the glass during math).  Their spots are darker and more defined.  We have noticed that some of the fish still have a small bump on their stomach. 

Mr. Brooks' third grade class

update from South Hill

WE have @34 fish at last count. We lost 6 over the 2 week break. The ones we have look BIG (easily an inch). Current readings are pH 8.0, ammonia .50, nitrate 0, nitrite 0. Should we do anything to raise nitrate, and lower ammonia? Thanks!