TROUT REPORT #3 2/1/00
Hope everyone out there is enjoying 2000.
We are the members of the trout program, Jieping and Sarah; sorry
for the delay in getting out an update. Special thanks to all
those who have written us asking for news on our program. This
report will discuss the growth of the trout and their habits.
The baby trout (hatchlings) are doing very well. They have grown
a lot since the last update, they are up to approximately 33 millimeters.
The largest trout was 38 mm and the smallest around 25 mm. The
food they are eating was sent from the Upstate hatchery. We are
using #1 size with some # 2.5 mixed in. The trout seem to like
what we feed them. They swim really fast every time we put food
in.
After the winter recess the hatchery became clogged up with waste.
When we were cleaning the waste some fish seemed to be attacking
the pump we used to clean the tank. It was kind of amusing to
watch them nibble on the tube. When we were cleaning they seemed
to be eating the waste and then when they realized it wasn't food
they would spit it out. They repeat this over and over again and
never seem to learn their lessons.
We had gradually raised the temperature of the water for the trout
to about 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The fish seem to adapt to the
temperature change and are doing fine (from 52 F). The reason
for this was to see if it will speed up their growth and if Mr.
Arezzo ever gets us the river bugs they will need warmer temperatures
to go through their life cycle. As a result of warmer temperatures,
larger fish and more waste our ammonia level has risen from .25
to .4 ppm. We are unplugging the UV filter to try and get more
bacteria break down activity.
Very few fish have left us. Two months ago we had a one eyed fish
that passed on. We have a photo of it and we will try to get in
on the web site (Vas loves the mutants). We also had a death of
a small fish last week. We think the reason it passed on was due
to the fact that it was a pinhead (an undeveloped fish with a
big head and skinny body). The body of the dead trout was covered
with a jelly like substance. Our hypothesis was that the dead
fish was growing mold.
That's all for now. We hope to hear from your fish soon.
From Mr. Arezzo:
The web site is still growing and we recommend visiting our site
and clicking on upcoming events and the research page. The links
in all areas of the web site have been updated and we think there
are some exciting sites for teachers and students. On the research
page students have added some pictures of their water quality
tests using lettuce seeds. There are more results to come. Also
the vitamin C results are in and you should check out the Research
page to see which drinks were found to have the most vitamin C!
The new compost data is also in. Our intern Saci has compiled
5 months of data and calculated that we collect 12.5 gallons or
44 pounds of food waste from our cafeteria each school day.
If anyone knows of someone who may be interested in a full time
garden/teaching position in our Brooklyn middle school should
contact us ASAP. Our principal is interviewing applicants now.
the trout team at I.S. 318