Sadly this may be our last salmon blog post. The salmon are mysteriously dying. We started with about 189 salmon about 8 weeks ago. Possibly the most of the salmon died because of stray voltage. Stray voltage is when the water goes through an electric unit and some times picks up electricity in the water and brings it into the tank where the fish are and shocks them to death.
Joke: If our salmon were in a war, they would always win because…
they’re in a tank!
Dorsal who?
Your dorsal’s still open.
Labels by Calvin and Drew. Click to enlarge.
“Lake Washington Ship Canal Fish Ladder Pamphlet.” Wikimedia Commons. US Government, 1996. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lake_Washington_Ship_Canal_Fish_Ladder_pamphlet_-_ocean_phase_Chinook.jpg>.
What does a dorsal fin do?
A dorsal fin keeps the fish from tipping over. (Source: Wikipedia)
SALMON UPDATE:
This week the salmon started to get their dorsal fins. Their dorsal fins are really tiny, about 1 cm tall. This means that they can swim to the top of the tank now, but they are still tipping over a little bit.
Extincting news all the salmon have hatched this weeks
After some of the fish hatched, a few of them died. The dead fish must be removed immediately. The date of their death is reported to the DNR (Department of Natural Resources).
While we were posting about how the fish have come out of their shells, we overheard these comments coming from the eggs:
Mr. Mon takes questions from 5th and 6th graders
Interview with Mr. Mon, a local salmon egg.
Today we had the privilege to speak with Mr. Sal Mon, currently an egg who just relocated to a sixth grade classroom. We had a lot of questions for Mr. Mon about his new living situation and about salmon in general.
Carter and Drew: How do you like living in Mr. Vermerris’ 6th grade classroom?
Mr. Mon: Myself and my brothers and sisters, the salmon are VERY excited to hatch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are very warm in our perfect temp. water tank. We will eat our egg in the next stage of our transformation.
Every day we see HUGE noses pressed against our BIG glass box home. I can’t wait to show off my sweet swimming skills and stretch my limbs, also known as fins.
Will: About how many eggs do salmon lay?
Mr. Mon: Our mom laid a lot of eggs. Then our dad fertilized them. I have about 2500-7000 brothers and sisters. We’re not sure how many of us make it to being a mom or dad.
Source: NOAA
Sam: What is the difference between fresh and salt water salmon?
Mr. Mon: There really is no difference except where we’re from.
Logan: What is the difference between farm and wild salmon?
Mr. Mon: There is a lot of prejudice against farm salmon because people say that we’re not as nutritious or environmental as wild salmon. I am a farm salmon and I would like to tell everyone, EAT WILD SALMON. Some people say wild salmon are better for you because they have more Omega-3 fatty acids which are good for your body since they can lower cholesterol in the body. Salmon farmers have rules they have to follow so that farm-raised salmon are getting tastier and just as healthful. But I don’t like to tell people about that.
Source: Wild Vs. Farm-Raised Salmon
Zack: How many different kinds of salmon are there?
Mr. Mon: There are 7 different kinds.
Source: Salmon Fishing Now
Eli: What is one of your dreams?
Mr. Mon: I hear there is a fish ladder on the Grand River, the famous river running through the city nearby. I would like to one day swim up this fish ladder. Other Chinooks and Steelhead salmon have been seen on this fish ladder. I’d like to join them when the weather is warmer in the spring. The ladder helps us get around the dam that would stop us from making it to Lansing.
Source: Michigan Department of Natural Resources
We’d like to thank Mr. Mon for joining us today and answering our questions. We’ll see you in a couple weeks after you hatch!
Image credits:
Fish poster from 6th grade environmental classroom.
Salmon eggs week 2. This week we observed a black dot in every egg, and veins going to the eyes.
We have nine SSAs–Student Salmon Assistants. They do daily water testing for ammonia, nitrites, PH, water hardness, alkalinity, and temperature. If these things are out of balance, they can kill the fish.
To test, you take a test tube and a test strip. You pour in water from the tank and add chemicals. It turns a color to tell you what the level is. The temperature gauge is in the tank on the side.
Another thing the SSAs do is look for dead eggs. You can tell that an egg is dead when it turns foggy yellow/white and opens up. Dead eggs can spread disease to the other eggs. To take out a dead egg, you have to have a turkey baster. You suck the egg into the turkey baster.
So far we have only had one egg die out of 189 total. Every time an egg dies, we have to report it to the DNR. We record the date that the egg died.
Our SSAs are: Zack, Drew, Audrey, Ross, Morgan, Alex, Ocean, Josh, and Sam.
P.S. Maybe bass really DO play bass.
Something's Fishy 