Salmon Scoop

By: Angelique K

Hello Ms. Swartz’s class Angelique here with the scoop about what’s happening with the salmon. The salmon are almost Sac Fry the third period of the life cycle of salmon. When we had first got the salmon they didn’t even have eyes yet. Now the little water critters are swimming up and down all over the place. We started with 200 baby eggs know we have around 75. We lost a lot from growing too early to a power outage at the school. Well that’s all 
for today see you next time at the Salmon Scoop!

Late December:

Hey look, I'm getting  my stripes!

Hey look, we're looking more and more like fish!

I'm ready for my close up! 

The first ones "swim up":

Mid December:

Their yolks are getting smaller and they are more active!

Dory: I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy.

Ever wonder wheat these fish are up to after school?

Today they were all hanging out in the corner of the tank after you left!  Taking a rest from the races they were doing earlier during the day. LOL.

Time for a weekly water test....

Our data recorder tallies the results as students test the water for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, water hardness, and pH.

Students learn about the stages of development through the Patterson Salmon sampler.

We compare the chemical reactions to a scale that tells us if our water is healthy for the fish, or needs a change to keep it clean.

Catching them the moment we got back from Thanksgiving break--anxious to see how many we could name!

Our salmon all out of their eggs.  They will absorb their yolk sac and continue to develop before our eyes over the next few weeks.

The guys have their first view of the newly hatched crew inside the tank.

Mike ponders what it is really like to be an uncle to so many offspring.

Check out this short clip so you can see and hear our excitement!  The bell has not even rung to start our day and the classroom is filled with such energy!

Halfway  out of its egg our little salmon pauses to save up some strength.

They hatched early!  We caught them the day before our Thanksgiving break!

Here you can see our first one that hatched inside the group of eggs.  (The eggs were rolling all over the tank as our buddies made their way out!)

Out of the egg on the left and halfway out on the right.  The eggs in the background see their friends hatch and want in on the action too!

Out, in, and getting there--the three amigos!

Their view of us as we observe them daily... and make "fishie faces"
We're sure they must like that!

This is what the girls look like from the other side...

Fishies faces anyone?  I think the salmon take after our class--they seem to have our good looks!

The boys are spotting how developed the eyes are inside the eggs.

Uh-oh... a bit of an electrical problem at our building and our power went out.  Thanks to our friends we were able to borrow some battery operated aerators, drop in ice, and keep our egg babies happy.

This was taken by the light of our flashlights--thank you to Ms. Joanne, our custodian, and salmon fairy godmother for watching our babies not once, but twice during power outages at our school!

Even other classes stop in to see our friends and test the water!

After the power outages the kids rush in to see how many eggs made it and how many perished.  We were very lucky and have only lost seven in our days prior to hatching!

Watching them develop eyes and spines as we wait for them to hatch...

Salmon-cam.  If only the eggs had real eyes to see these beautiful ladies watching over them!

200 eggs in their tank--just chilling with their homies!

The eyes and blood vessels on the spine of our fishy friends.  (The black dust settled on the eggs is just trace carbon from our filter unit.)

Eyes, heads, tails---they are wiggling inside the eggs.  I think they are waving at us to say "hi".  No, seriously, they are waving at us from the inside!

Getting my batch of babies at Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery just past Kalamazoo, MI.

3 hours there and 3 1/2 hours home was well worth it for our 4th grade classes to meet their new brothers and sisters.

Our fresh eggs in their handy ziploc for the drive home.

It may not look like it, but they assured us we have around 200 salmon eggs.  These eggs barely have black dots for eyes and a pink blood vessel where their spine will develop.

They see us rolling... around the current... in our new tank home back at school!