Aquarium lab report

I. Purpose: To monitor a FW Ecosystem over time and collect and interpret data.

II. Materials: (20) Tank, water, gravel, colleseum toy, plant, fake plant, shell toy, rock, swordtail fish, albino corycatfish (2), Molly fish, filter, bacteria supplement, albino catfish, bubbler, fish food, turtle toy, pipette, scrubber, sifter, pitcher

III. Procedure:

1. Clean the empty fish tank with scrubber. 

2. Clean gravel with sifter. 

3. Clean until water is clear.

4. Place the cleanly rinsed gravel in tank. 

5. Using a pitcher, fill tank with new water. 

6. Pick and clean toys thoroughly. 

7. Place clean toys in desired area of tank. 

8. Repeat steps 6&7 using fake plants. 

9. Using nitrite and ammonia test, test water until they match the safe colors. 

10. Repeat testing until colors match the chart. 

11. Add bubbler to tank

12. Add filter. (Repeat steps 6&7)

13. Buy desired fish at local pet store, look at the size tank they need, who they get along with and what they eat. 

14. Soon after purchase, bring fish to tank. 

15. Place fish (inside bag from pet store) in the water for 10 minutes to let them adjust to the temperature. 

16. After 10 minutes get a fish net, and remove the bags from the water. 

17. Cut small (big enough for fish to get out) hole in the corner of the plastic bags. 

IV. Data: 

A: Quantitative (water quality chart)

B: Qualitative (observations) 

Day 1-
•Picked out a tank today!
•empty gravel and cleaned it in water
•scrubbed the tank's walls and floor
•didn't get to completely finish
Day 2-
•finished the last minute cleaning duties
•picked out plants for aquarium
•picked out toys for aquarium
Day 3-
•filled up our tank with water
•added a filter
•put de-chlorinator in the water
•going to get our fishies tomorrow!!!
Day 4-
•picked out all of our fish!!
•placed them in our tank to get them adjusted to the water before taking them out of their plastic bags
•took the fish out of their bags after about 10 minutes
•fish seemed to love the tank! :)
Day 5-
•fish seem to be liking the tank
•one of my fish, Laverne, has already left us :( rest in peace.
•doesn't seem to be much conflict between the fish. Yay!
Day 6-
•added bacopia to our tank
•water quality levels are average
Day 7- 
•fish seem to be doing just fine
•ammonia level is higher than usual…
•emptied then refilled some water to see if that would help
•added daily bacteria supplement
Day 8-

•water quality has started to become poor

•not sure how exactly to fix this reoccurring problem

Day 9- 

•tried to refill our tank with fresh water to change the water quality

•added the daily bacteria supplement and de-chlorinator

Day 10- 

•water quality was very poor= it was purple and green. 

• Fish begin acting a little funny. 

• added bacteria and dechlorinator to the tank, as well as fed the fish. 

Day 11-

• added clams to the tank

• change half of water out/filled it back up

• water quality was still poor

Day 12-

• one Cory catfish died- it was Stan. :(

• water levels were still not that great

• clams burrowed underneath the gravel

Day 13-

• The other Cory catfish died- Dorthy. :(

• fish began to show signs of ick

• White furry things started to grow on our fish

• Molly Fish (Shirley) began to become vertical in the water

• Fish were barely moving

Day 14-

•Ick got the best of our fish. They were all gone. :(

• there was a cocoon of fungus around the fish

•water quality was awful/water continued to de-color
Day 15-
•Began cleaning out the tank
•Poured the water out, scrubbed the inside walls, cleaned the gravel with warm water. Ran out out of time to completely finish cleaning.
Day 16-
•Finished cleaning out the tank
•added de-chlorinator and bacteria supplements
Day 17-
•Mrs. Wood let us have two small fish to put in the cleaned tank
•acted pretty normal
•didn't seem sick and adjusted to the water pretty well
Day 18-
•the new fish were dead….and I have NO IDEA WHY.

Day 19: 

•added clams and more plants. 

•nitrites are high today and ammonia is medium.

•still no fish

Day 20: 

•after all of the fish we have put in our tank, every one of them has died. It's safe to say we just gave up on it. Not sure exactly why everything kept dying, but I will definitely not be owning any more fish any time soon… Warn your upcoming classes not to get too attached--it only leads you to heartbreak!

V. Conclusion

1. There are many different variables that one must pay attention to when taking care of an aquarium. Let's start out with the key components in the nitrogen cycle. It starts with the ammonia that comes from fish food and fish waste, then nitrosonomas turns the ammonia into nitrites, which in turn changes the nitrites to nitrates through nitrobacter, and the cycle continues. The temperature is important because it must be kept around the same level each day, so that the fish don't have a shock of cold water or hot water, which disrupts their internal balance, and could kill them. Now let's discuss pH, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen. The pH level must be monitored because it is what determines if water is neutral, or if it is leaning towards an acid or a base. The conductivity is the amount of current that is going through the water. If these components are too high or too low, they will also harm your fish's health.

2: Nitrogen cycle-

     a. Feed fish. The food not eaten by the fish will then create ammonia.

     b. Fish eat and digest the food, which creates waste in the water, as well as ammonia.

     c. A bacteria in the water called nitrosinomus changes ammonia into nitrites. 

     d. The plants then absorb the nitrites.

     e. After the plants absorb the nitrites, they release them into the water, and nitrobacter changes the nitrites into nitrates so it is safe for the fish to swim around in.

     f. The nitrates help the fish flourish, and the cycle continues.  

3: Our water quality varied all throughout this process. It started normal, with the ammonia around one and the nitrites around zero. Then the nitrites started to increase while the ammonia stayed the same. But as the nitrites rose continuously, the ammonia started to go up too, which told us that something was off. Our water quality was all over the chart because of the ick that our tank had towards the middle and end of this project. When we thoroughly cleaned our tank again and refilled it with fresh water, the water quality started all over again with nitrites at zero and ammonia at .25 or 1.

4: The Oxygen and Carbon dioxide is very important because it moderates the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in water all throughout the day. It relates to local ponds and creeks because during the night, oxygen levels are lower and carbon dioxide levels are higher because the sun is not there, which prevents plants from going through photosynthesis. When the sun rises, the level of carbon dioxide decreases and the level of oxygen increases, until noon, when they are opposite of the levels they were at at dawn. When the sun begins to set, the levels begin to change again--oxygen goes down, and carbon dioxide goes up, similar to what happens during the night.

5: Our aquarium definitely struggled a lot more with this project because of the series of unfortunate events that transpired all throughout these past 8 weeks: such as the ick, and the deaths. The only way that we possibly could have solved these issues, was by completely starting all over again with the cleansing of the tank and things like that.

6: I learned-

 -that adding a lot of plants to our aquarium helps decrease levels of ammonia

-that it is crucial to be adding bacteria supplements to the water every day in order to keep your nitrite and ammonia levels balanced.

-that ick medicine is something that needs to be obtained immediately after you can see the ick on your face. If not, you end up with dead fish and broken hearts.

-the importance of the nitrogen cycle to the lives of the fish.

    

7: The most interesting thing that happened during this project was seeing the end result to the ick infestation of our fish. They were incased in a strange and abnormal-looking fungus type material that ended up suffocating them.

8. My favorite part of this project would have to be the anxious feeling I got everyday to come to fourth period and see how my fish were doing. Though we didn't have them for very long, it was interesting to learn about their ecosystem and what helps them flourish and what doesn't. 

9. Pay very close attention to your water levels. If you don't see the ammonia levels going down when your nitrites start going up, don't ever hesitate to ask for help or it could cause major damage to your fish. Also, do NOT buy expensive fish!! I would change this project by taking a grade on the number of observations taken each week. That way it's easier to write up the lab report at the end. It makes that a lot easier. 

Watersheds

Good evening to my favorite big fish!
Let's discuss watersheds, shall we? Because believe it or not, we are living in one!
A watershed is an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas. I live in the Elm fork of the Trinity River with my address being 12030103. Some benefits of my watershed are that it helps provide habitats for fish, birds and insects, as well as preserving recreation opportunities such as fishing and water-related recreation like boating. However, there are problems concerning the watershed as well. Bacterias and pollution can negatively affect our watershed because they get into the water and cause it to become less fresh and in turn destroy the habitats that reside in it.  
I hope this gave each of you some insight on watersheds!
Sea you realllllll soon!
~Little Fish Leanne

Guadalupe Bass

Hi big fish friends!
Today I'm going to introduce you to the Texas State fish, the Guadalupe Bass, also known as the Micropterus treculii. This fish is typically located in flowing waters throughout Texas such as the San Antonio River, the Guadalupe River above Gonzales, the Colorado River north of Austin, and portions of the Brazos River drainage. Both males and females become sexually mature when they are one year olds and the females can lay 400 to 9000 eggs at a time. Guadalupe bass build gravel nests for spawning, preferably in shallow water. After the females lay their eggs, the female is then chased away and the male stands guard over the eggs. These fish feed on invertebrates, and other fish, and have little to no predators. Here are some interesting facts about the Guadalupe Bass:
1. They are generally small in size because they are adapted to small streams.
2. It is actually not a member of the bass family at all, but of the Centrarchidae of the sunfish family.
3. It is considered apart of the "sport fish" species because of their ability to utilize fast water to their advantage when hooked.  
I hope you've all learned something today about a fish that is near and dear to Texas!
Sea you next time.
~Little Fish Leanne

Algae!

Good evening to all of my big fish out there!
Tonight I'm going to tell you about some organisms that have been added to my cute little aquarium!
In order to find these organisms, we searched through a container full of algae and found them all in there! The container consisted of some leeches, scud, mayfly larva, snails, along with many others. However, the only ones we were able to catch were mayfly larva and snails! We put some of those into our tank and the Molly fish immediately went for the snails and ate them right up! The mayfly larva was able to hide itself underneath the gravel for a little while, but eventually, the Albino Corey Catfish was able to find him and eat him as well! All in all, none of the organisms survived being eaten for very long. Our fish must have been hungry for something other than fish flakes! ;)

Whale, until next time big fish of mine.

~Little Fish Leanne

Nitrogen Cycle

Bonjour big fish!
Today let's talk about the Nitrogen Cycle, shall we?
The definition of this cycle is: the series of processes by which nitrogen and its compounds are interconverted in the environment and in living organisms, including nitrogen fixation and decomposition.
Here are the steps to the Nitrogen Cycle in our aquarium:
1. Food gets poured into the tank.
2. Fish eat the food, which eventually becomes waste.
3. Their waste turns ammonia.
4. Ammonia turns into nitrate by nitrosonoma bacteria.
5. Nitrite turns to nitrate by nitrobacter bacteria. 
6. The plants absorb the nitrate like a plant fertilizer.
7. The plants clean the water.
8. The cycle repeats!

Wave-ing bye for now!
~Little Fish Leanne

River Model

Good afternoon, big fish.
Today we will discuss the River Model used in my classroom.
It is set up into four different pools. Originally, this is how each pool was set up: Pool 1 had nothing in it. Pool 2 had rocks, and 2 brown minnows. Pool 3 had sand, pea gravel, rocks, plants, and 20 ghost shrimp. And Pool 4 had sand, pea gravel, plants, 1 orange and 1 brown minnow, and a cray fish. After a while, we discovered that the cray fish had moved from Pool 3 to Pool 4, and that a brown minnow got caught in a pump and died. :( 

Hopefully this picture will help represent what the river model is like!

Hasta la vista, fishies. 

~Little Fish Leanne

Temperature and Density

Hello to you, big fish!
Let's talk temperature and density today.
In the demonstration you see at the bottom, we've placed a jar filled with warm, red water over a jar filled with cold, blue water--the other jars, vice versa. In between the lip of the two jars, there is a piece of cloth preventing the liquids from colliding.

When we removed the cloths from in between the jars, the set with the red water on top stayed separate. This is because warm water is less dense than cold water, causing the red water to float above the blue. But when the cloth between the jars with the blue on top was removed, the two colors flipped and mixed together forming a dark purple color. This was because the cold water dropped and sank because it is denser than the warm water. 

The connection that this demonstration provides is that in a lake during the summer time, warmer water sits on top of the colder water that is underneath due to the rising temperatures during that season. (red on top of blue) But when the weather gets cooler, the lake's temperatures mix together and the cooler water rises to the top causing the water to become denser while oxygen and nutrients float up with the cooler water. (blue on top of red)

I hope we've all learned something today, big fish!

Sea you soon!

~Little Fish Leanne

Water issues?

Greetings, big fish!
My group and I are conducting a survey on local citizens' awareness of the issues impacting our local water systems. The two issues we've chosen to focus on are the construction of a new lake named Lake Ralph Hall, located in Fannin County, and the water restrictions that have been enacted throughout the community. We chose these issues in order to inquire about how many locals actually have a clue about them, as well as to discover many different points of views on each issue.
We've chosen to conduct our interview at Valley Creek Church. I can't wait for you to see more!
Wave-ing goodbye,
~Little Fish Leanne

Let's talk Specific Heat

Hi again, big fish!
I'd like to discuss a certain water property that plays a role in our aquatic ecosystem: Specific Heat.
The definition of Specific Heat is the amount of heat per unit mass required to raise the temperature by 1 degrees Celsius. In order to demonstrate this, my friends and I filled up two balloons--one with air and one with water. We held each one over an open flame and found out that the balloon filled with air was the one that popped, while the one filled with water did not. This happened because the heat was distributed much slower inside of the balloon filled with water than the balloon filled with air, which is why it did not pop. In order to relate this to the aquatic ecosystem, we discussed how it affects the climate as well as the temperature of the water. Through specific heat, the water cools off and heats up slower than the land, which reflects the way the climate is around bodies of water and how that climate differs from a climate further inland.
Overall, the experiment taught us more about the ways specific heat affects the aquatic ecosystem without us even recognizing it!
Sea you later!
~Little Fish Leanne

A little bit about a little fish.

Hello to all of you big fish out there! My name is Leanne, and I've created this blog to share with you the wonderful world of aquatic science. Though I am quite a small person, I have big dreams and I attribute all of that to the life I have lived so far! Let's learn more about that, shall we?
I was born in California and moved here when I was 6. I live with my fabulous mother as well as my  adorable brother, and I am very blessed to call them my family! I could sing before I could talk, so without music, I would be nothing. Choir has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I hope to continue with it even through college! Though I have a passion for music, I also have a passion for childhood education, which I would love to major in at the University of Arkansas next fall! I am very strong in my faith and I am so very happy to be able to say that I have a relationship with God.
I've been blessed with this beautiful life and I cannot wait to share more about it with you, aquatic science version. ;)
Until next time!
~Little Fish Leanne