TUYOUTH
Teacher Ryan Rowe‘s class at Alexander Middle School addresses water quality issues using a unique “aquaponies” strategy, adding a second tank to purify water and grow herbs.
Nitrate levels consistently stay low due to absorption from plant roots and pH has stabilized.
Upon delivery to the schools, the eggs are placed in a basket where they are allowed to rest until hatch day. Non-viable eggs are identified and removed during that period. After the hatch, the fry are freed to swim in the tank and are fed a graduated diet of food — formulated and supplied by the hatchery. Students and teachers watch the trout grow from eggs into viable fingerlings, and in the spring have the chance to take a field trip together to an assigned stream, designated and approved by our state’s Wildlife Resources Commission, where they bid the trout a fond “goodbye and good luck.” It’s a bittersweet time for the students, but we’re pretty sure the fish are happy to explore their new homes and settle right in. Some programs combine the trip to release the fish with other great opportunities for students to learn more about the world around them. These trips provide a chance for interaction with our dedicated rangers, wildlife staff and TU volunteers whose service and kindness serve as positive role and behavior models, and give students individual time to explore around the water and encounter the wild outdoors.
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Spring 2019
It’s a long journey from starting life as an egg in Tennessee to swimming free in a North Carolina stream, and there are lots of things that can bring it to a sudden end. Most of those are related to water temperature and quality; particularly control of ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and PH levels as the fish mature, consume food and produce waste. Regular water changes (removing some water and replacing it with fresh, cold dechlorinated water) help. Be sure to do this in small doses, so as not to raise the temperature of the tank. Another common problem, particularly over a long weekend or holiday break, is an extended loss of power to the school. This causes the filtration and chiller systems to stop, and if not corrected in time will result in fish loss. Additionally, a highly successful hatch and early production may unduly load the tank’s natural biofilter system. About 1 gallon of water per fish is optimal and if you have a larger population, it may be wise to remove some to another system or release some early to maintain this ratio. Less-common but still of concern are
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