We have come a long way since the brown trout eggs arrived in our science lab in October. Prior to Ms. Hanson and I traveling to Hyde Park, NY to pick up our eggs, the club worked hard to prepare the tank for the arrival of the eggs. The kids cleaned the filter, made sure that the chiller, thermometer, gravel and oxygen bubbler were in place and filled the 55 gallon tank with water. We learned that brown trout eggs need to be in water where the pH level is between 6.0 and 8.0 and a water temperature that is between 48 and 52 degrees. We also talked about the need for the water to be free of chlorine and ammonia.
When the eggs arrived, the club studied them under a magnifying glass and identified the two eyes that were inside of the eggs. We talked about how all of our eggs wouldn't hatch and how to identify and remove dead eggs. We estimated there to be about 100 eggs in our hatching basket and were excited that we only had to remove about five eggs that died.
Prior to the eggs hatching we studied that life cycle of the trout. We learned that once the eggs hatched, they would be alevin and feed from the yolk sac that was attached to their belly. Once the alevin consumed the food that was in their yolk sac, they would become fry.
Recently, we were visited by Lilli Genovesi, the Classroom Coordinator for the New York City Trout in the Classroom Program. She talked about the internal and external anatomy of a trout and we did a virtual dissection of a trout on the SmartBoard. We were very proud of our young scientists as they got a close-up view of the organs of a trout!
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| After participating in a virtual dissection, the kids draw the internal anatomy of a trout. |
Observing the alevin eating from their yolk sacs.
Testing pH and ammonia levels.
Viewing our chart of pH and ammonia levels.
