WM Tank Team Releases 128 Salmon 3/26
By salmon | March 26, 2010
It is time to say goodbye to our salmon. They are big and healthy – over an inch long! Today we scooped 128 — THAT”S REALLY A LOT OF FISHIES –out of the tank with nets and put them in a bucket. Our teacher drove them down to Luther Burbank Park and released them near the swim area. Several swam off immediately, but a few lingered by the reeds near the beach.
The project was cool. The tank was noisy, but we miss them now. We will have to come back to see next year’s salmon.
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WM tank team 3/20/2010
By jhovind | March 19, 2010
Our water quality is holding nicely with 6.8 pH, 46˚F temperature, and no traces of ammonia.
The salmon are getting bigger and stronger. Their yolk sacks are all consumed. They are eating dry food for about two weeks now! You can see all their adipose fins!
They have changed the tone of their scales to a much darker shade when we put up black paper on the back of the tank. Maybe we will change it to white this week!
We are probably going to release them next week right before Spring Break.
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Salmon Tank feb. 22 – feb. 26
By salmon | February 26, 2010
West Mercer
The temperature in the tank is 44 degrees. The Nitrate is 3.0. most of the fish don’t have their yolk sac anymore but a couple do. We might start feeding them as soon as next week. We have to wait until there bellies are all the way silver and no red is showing. The pH is 6.8 which is neutral. The ammonia is 0 PPM. they are swimming around a ton and if you tap your fingernails on the glass they all swim away from where your fingernails are. we are putting black construction paper on the whole back side of the tank.
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Tank Team Update Feb 10 – 12
By admin | February 10, 2010
Lakeridge Tank Team — Feb. 10
Observations
- They are now called fry or parr. Notice the parr marks (stripes).
This week we started feeding the growing salmon now called Parr or Fry. They have silver sides and distinct black strips called parr marks. Most have used up their yolk sack.
We continue to lose some fish each day, 
but not in large numbers. This is a critical stage in their development as they finish their internal food source from teh egg and have to start relying on their digestive system for the first time. We hope we can keep them health and watch them grow for a few more weeks.
Feb 11 — RELEASE DATE– Goodbye Salmon!
Too many salmon in the Lakeridge tank were dying.
Our principal,Mr. Rundle scooped teh survivors up this morning and released them into Lake Washington where he said, “They swam away like Olympic champs!” We hope they enjoy there new freedom and space to roam, make it out the the ocean, then swim back home! 
***************Lakeridge, signing off!*****************
West Mercer Tank Team Feb 12
They are a actually swimming now! Last week almost all of them were down hiding in the gravel. This week most are up and swimming around the tank. Only a few are left down in the gravel. They still have bulging bellies and visible red yolk sacs. They look like healthy little fish!
Swimmers now!
Water Quality —
Temperature 46˚F
pH neutral 7.0
Ammonia 0 ppm ideal
Nitrate safe levels
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Tank Team Updates Feb 3-5
By salmon | February 3, 2010
Lakeridge tank team: Feb 3, 2010
The parr have almost used up their yolk sacks. they have just a thin red line on their bellies now.
A lot of the fish are dead or sick and down on the bottom! They’re all jittery. The ammonia level came back a little high causing stress. The nitrate level came back very high at dangerous levels. Even the pH was way too acidic. We added neutralizer and 5 gallons of fresh water. We will check daily and release them to the lake if many keep dieing. Then they will have better water quality and a better chance for survival.
Lakeridge Parr are almost ready to eat...or release!
*************
WEST MERCER TANK TEAM
Test Results
pH 7.2 “slightly basic but okay”
anmonia 0PPM “perfect”
nitrate “stress safe”
our cute fish:)
our fish are growing really fast!!
temp 43
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Tank Team Updates Jan 27-29
By salmon | January 27, 2010
Lakeridge Team: Jan 27
Observations:
No dead fish. In general the fish are silver with some dark stripes. Some of the fish have only one eye. They don’t have any depth perception and swim sideways. We hope they live! There are a lot of fish finishing up their yolk sack. After they all finished their yolk sack we can start feeding them.
plant added for our new experiment
Experiment results: Fish are more evenly spread out because of the water current.
New experiment: We added two fake plants and wonder if the fish will be attracted to them. Watch next week to see if they are hanging out by the plants or just evenly spread out in the water.
Water Quality:
temperature: about 50 degrees Fahrenheit
Ph: 6.6 a little acidic. adding neutralizer
ammonia: 3 ppm stress. added neutralizer
high nitrates 60
Island Park Tank Team — Sad bad week.
Our fish went from happy and healthy to crisis time over the weekend. Many fish were dead when we came in Monday morning. Water quality tested reasonably, so we wonder if we waited too long to feed them? Many ate happily and thrived when we added food, but many continued to die. We decided to release them all to Lake Washington on Tuesday afternoon. Mrs. Ritchie took them down to the lake by Pioneer Park to release and reported that the healthy ones swam right away as if grateful for the extra space to swim in and explore. We wish them luck and hope some survive to come back as adults.
Farewell Island Park Salmon!
Many thanks to the students of the Island park tank team and their teachers!
***********
West Mercer Tank team — no report this week.
*************
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Tank Team Updates Jan 20-22
By salmon | January 20, 2010
Island Park Tank Team: Jan 21, 2010
Observations
We took out three rocks and found some really gross duds underneath — YUCK! We removed them of course. Our fish look very healthy. They have dark brown stripes called parr marks now. Their bellies are completely silver now but still slightly bulged. We will start feeding them next week. They are moving all over the tanks pretty evenly spread out. We noticed that one is malformed with its eyes practically on top of its mouth. See if you can spot that unique fish! No experiment ideas yet.
They look like reall fish now. Call them fry or parr! Alevin stage is over.
Water Quality -- Ideal!
PH 7.0 Perfectly Neutral. YEA!
Ammonia 0.6-1.2 SAFE!
Nitrate 0.1 Perfect!!
Temperature 51˚F
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Lakeridge Tank Team: Jan 20, 2010
They’re getting bigger! Their yolk sacs are getting smaller. They are swimming around in the tank now. We noticed just a few dead eggs that need to be removed, and there are no signs of dead alevin!
Water Tests:PH level:7.4, Alkaline. Nitrate level: 20- 30 PPM between safe and stress. Ammonia 6-7 death rates…. maybe this is inaccurate because they are all fine!
EXPERIMENT #1: Are the fish in the left side of the tank because the current flows that way? We moved the current to experiment whether it will change where the fish are. We will see next week.
They are schooling in the left side of the tank! Why?
They are schooling in the left side of the tank! Why?
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West Mercer Tank Team: Jan. 22, 2010
Observations: The alevin are all still actively trying to hide in the gravel. Once in a while one will struggle to swim up towards the top and then sink back down. Their yolk sacs are still large but getting smaller. Their bo
Alevin hiding in the gravel --look carefully!
dies are getting longer and darker.
Water Quality Tests - We added neutralizer again.
Temperature 45˚F
- PH 7.2 slightly alkaline but OK
- Ammonia: .5 stress but better
Nitrate: 40ppm 30ppm stress
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Tank Team Updates Jan 14-15
By salmon | January 14, 2010
Island Park Tank Team Jan 14 2010
Observations
The alevin are doing great! They used to be hiding near the bottom, but now they are swimming all over the tank. They are using up their yolk sac. Their yolk sac is almost dissolved. Their sides are all silver with just a little bulge like a fat tummy of red on the under belly. They are almost fry and looking very healthy! Plus they are getting little par marks on their sides.About 75 (out of about 300) salmon eggs and alevin have died.
Our salmon are swimming around together
Water Quality -- . getting better
PH 7.5 way too acidic We added pH down chemical and will test again later.
Ammonia 2.4 just a little too high (should be 1.2 or less)
Nitrate 0.1 Perfect!!
Temperature 51˚F
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West Mercer Tank Team: Jan. 15, 2010
Observations: 5 more eggs have hatched. The fishies are still weak with big and fat bellies! The yolk has not been dissolving yet. They are getting a little darker and less transparent.
These are our fatty fish!
Water Quality Tests and Observations-- We added chemicals to help, but we need to exchange water soon.
Temperature ˚F The temprature is 39 degrees.
- PH 7.4 (alkaline)
- Ammonia 4-5 ppH too high
Nitrate: 20 (safe)
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Lakeridge Tank Team: Jan. 15, 2010
Observations:
Water Quality --
PH
Ammonia
Nitrate
Temperature ˚F
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Tank team updates Jan 4-8 2010
By salmon | January 7, 2010
Happy New Year!!
Lakeridge Tank Team: Jan 6, 2010
Observations
The alevin have changed a lot since they hatched in December. They are darker, less transparent ,and larger. Almost all the alevin are an inch long. Their yolk sacs are getting smaller They keep swimming up like an inch and then drifting down.
Water Quality -- We added the filter stages, replaced the in-take tube, and added a neutralizer chemical to help the pH and Ammonia levels.
PH 6.4 too acidic
Ammonia 6.0 too high
Nitrate Safe levels
Temperature 46 f
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Island Park Tank Team: Jan. 7, 2010
Our alevin are swimming all over the place. The have little tails and are almost rid of their yolk sac. They like being in clusters. There are still a few that are down at the bottom just sitting there. The salmon are growing so very fast!
This is a view from the bottom up of an alevin cluster swimming.
Water Quality -- All chemical levels are too high. We added conditioner and will need to exchange 20% of the water.
PH 7.6 too acidic
Ammonia 4.8 too high
Nitrate .3-.8 — too high
Temperature 50˚F
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West Mercer Tank Team: Jan. 8, 2010
Over the winter vacation, our eggs finally hatched! They are still very thin and transparent with large yolk sacks. They are all hiding down in the gravel at the bottom of the tank.
- You can see our alien like salmon!
Water Quality Tests and Observations-- The water level is low. We added 2 gallons of water. We also added a neutralizer chemical to bring down the pH and ammonia levels.
PH 7.6 too acidic
Ammonia 3.0 “harmful”
Nitrate 20 ppm NO3 “safe” 3.o NO2 “Stress” ph 7.4 “too acidic”
All of the salmon have not hatched yet. We have not taken out all of the eggs taken out of the tank.
Temperature 48˚F
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Tank Team Updates: Dec. 14 – 18
By salmon | December 16, 2009
Lakeridge Tank Team: Dec. 16th
They are hatching!! About 5 are out already!
See the hatched alevin with the red yolk sack among the eggs here.
The new alevin are quite skinny and very transparent. Their yolk sacks are attached to their bellies. They are a red rosy color. Some don’t make it as they try to hatch sadly. We are working hard to remove them so they don’t decay and add bacteria to the water. We hope that all eggs will be hatched by Friday.
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Island Park Tank Team: Dec 17th
alevin up close
They hatched last Friday! Our tank is full of squiggly wiggly alevin. Their bodies are light gray — almost transparent, and they have bright red yolk sacks on their bellies. Mostly they hide on the bottom in the low places and under rocks, but sometimes one will get a little burst of energy and try swim up to the top for just a moment. They won’t need to eat for 3-4 weeks, but we wonder how they will change over winter break. Happy Holidays! More in the New Year.
alevin hiding among the rocks
—-test results —
Temperature 52˚F — a little on the high side.
Water qualtiy — still a little cloudy from the dissolving egg shells, but the foam i s clearing.
pH — getting a little too high 7.4 (on the acidic side from 7.0 neutral)
Ammonia 1.2 — still in the safe zone when analyzed in combination with pH, but we will want to keep a watch on this.
Nitrate 0.2 — a safe level but we should monitor to make sure it’s not rising and may want to consider a 20% water change before break. We added a water conditioner called PRIME that should help.
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West Mercer Tank Team: Dec 18th
Ours have still not hatched — BOO! They are close but still not quite ready, so they will likely hatch while we are gone at break. We are still removing dead eggs : about 80 today. We estimate that we’ve lost about 2/3 of our eggs. We have about 100 left.:(
The cold water may make our tank a bit slower, and the problems with acid may be another reason ours are behind the other tanks.
clear eyes and spines, but no alevin yet.
Temperature is 48˚F. Water quality looks good. ph is at 7.0, so we have finally recovered from our acidity issue! Nitrate tests showed 20 ppm which is in the safe zone. Ammonia is at .5 ppm which is in the stress zone. We added carbon and ammonia filters to take care of the problem. The eggs are looking great and most have eyes! We want to have our eggs hatch soon.
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