trout update #2

Subj: Trout in the hood
Date: 11/5/98
To: EZHIFI, jstoliar, apstoliar, Reefdoctor@webtv.com

Hi all~
Joan is hot on these updates - if you do not want me to clutter your e-mailbox with such information just email me back and I will remove you from the "list". On the flip, if you can think of anyone I should be including via email, please let me know.

Trout are mostly hatched out and the few eggs that are left do not seem to be very fruitful - all in all (no data handy at the moment) we lost less than 20 eggs and less than 10 fish since our last update - which translates into a lot of fish.
The dead fish that were removed were examined under the dissection scope and students have determined that at this point, we have only lost "deformed or underdeveloped " fish. This is good news for all and impressive for Designer Chris Cefola since the new "Trout Stream System" was untested on trout. To date it appears the only variable that has affected mortality rates has been genetics.

For those of you who have seen the tank you may remember the middle compartment where the eggs were placed - the fish have been "hanging low" - using the nooks and cranies at the bottom of the white "egg crate" to hide. Kids have hypothesized that they are using the tiny spaces to simulate rock crevices of their native habitat. We had some fine mesh screening lining the bottom of the egg crate and covering the spaces but fish seemed trapped and alarmed students elected we remove it.

The fish are kept on the live "trout-cam" during the day and staff/students stop by routinely to check out the progress.

Onscreen observation has shown a small decrease in the yolk sac accompanied by a large increase in fish activity (which has been described as shaking with occasional darting).

All else seems well - pH is btw 6.6 and 6.8 and temp fluctuates between 48 - 52 (interestingly enough it doesn't seem to correlate with the ambient temp)

Kudos to Mike E. upstate who had his students count all of the eggs before they hatched out. We were holding eggs for another City HS so in the end we could only estimate - we think it is important to start the project with an accurate count so students can calculate hatching and survival rates.

happy wadding,

IS 318