The Classroom Coral Reef

This post is long overdue, but as they say, “Life gets in the way.”  With the approaching end of the school year, things become more hectic and blogging heads to the back burner.  I did feel it was important to spend some time reflecting on how the project went this year, as well as looking ahead to the future.

Reflections on the first year…

Overall, I have to say that the first year of the project has been a success.  The aquarium and breeding system are established, the inhabitants are thriving, and we held a successful open house event.  Most importantly, this project has proved to be an excellent teaching and learning tool this year.  Of course, structured lessons around the aquarium have been valuable and a wonderful supplement to our seventh grade life science curriculum.  Perhaps the biggest benefit has been the countless teachable moments we have gained this year as students have asked questions, made observations, and shared their enthusiasm each day when gathered around the aquarium without my prompting at the beginning and end of each class.

There are some aspects of the project that I would have liked to pursue further this year.  Most notably, I did not make the time to have students participate in this blog.  I would have also liked to incorporate more structured science lessons that pertain to the reef aquarium.  That being said, I do need to remind myself that this is a marathon and not a sprint.  I could spend an entire school year with students focusing solely on different aspects of the classroom coral reef and still only scratch the surface of all I would want to accomplish!

I would be remiss if I did not take a part of this reflection to thank all of the individuals who have contributed to the success of this undertaking.  To students, district administrators and employees, parents, community members and fellow reef hobbyists who have helped; whether it be with your moral and/or logistical support, your donations of time, fish, or corals, and your enthusiasm for this project: I thank you.  We could not have accomplished all that we have without you.

Looking forward…

By no means is the project “complete”!  In fact, I applied for and have been awarded a Toyota TAPESTRY mini-grant for an extension to this project called ‘The Coral Reef Hits the Road’.  Funds from the grant will be used to purchase webcams and video equipment so that anyone with an internet connection will be able to view our little slice of the ocean.  Additionally, students will produce “virtual field trips” to our aquarium and breeding systems that students worldwide can visit with just a click of the mouse!  This blog will serve as the “hub” for the next phase of the project so be sure to stay tuned!

Parting shots…

No post to the blog would be complete without recent photos!

Here are some pictures of the breeding system.  The top tier holds our broodstock, the two liter bottles contain our phytoplankton cultures.  We are raising three species of phytoplankton (Nannocholorposis, Isochrysis, and Tetraselmis) to feed the zooplankton (rotifers) that we will eventually feed clownfish larvae.

Here are the rotifer cultures.  The microscope next to them is used to monitor the population density of the cultures:

Here is a rotifer under the digital microscope (100x):

Here are a bunch of miscellaneous shots of corals and fish from today:

Thanks for looking!

Thank you!

Without a doubt, the Classroom Coral Reef Open House was a success. I’d estimate that close to 100 people made time on a Friday night to come and see us. It was terrific to meet other local hobbyists and answer the great questions that people asked. We’ll be doing this again next year!

If a picture is worth 1,000 words…

then a video must be worth 1,000,000! I’ve uploaded some video of the display aquarium and the newest members of the menagerie in the broodstock system. If you weren’t able to attend the Open House, here is a sample of what you missed. Enjoy!

Parting shots

Here are a few pictures to document the continued growth of the corals and overall health of the system.

Thanks for looking!

Welcome home, little critters!

The fish that were quarantined have made their way back into the display aquarium without any casualties.  The copper treatment and quarantine period have proven effective in beating the Cryptocaron irritans.  It was quite interesting to observe the differences in fish behavior in the quarantine tank versus the display tank.  The larger fish, in particular were much more skittish and would constantly hide when in quarantine.  Now that they’re back in the display, we are observing behavior that seems much more natural and “at ease”.

Here are some pictures taken this afternoon.  (Note: The aquarium is not this dark in person, rather, I was trying some different shutter speeds on the camera.)

New arrivals

After reading the students’ research-based persuasive writing pieces, we have finally settled on some new fish. We will be adding a yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens), some green chromis (Chromis viridis), a yellow-tailed blue damsel (Chrysiptera Parasema), and a juvenile Tennenti tang (Acanthurus tennenti).  These fishes are currently in quarantine and are undergoing prophylactic treatment with copper medication.  They’ll be added to the display in about three weeks.

Marine fish breeding system

I was finally able to make some time over February Recess to come in and work on the broodstock portion of the marine ornamental fish breeding system.  This consisted of drilling the five 10-gallon aquariums and plumbing the system into a sump.  We will try our hand at breeding a few different species of clownfish (Amphiprion spp.), Orchid dottybacks (Pseudochromis fridmani), and the now endangered Banggai cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni).  All of the broodstock we acquire for the breeding portion of the ‘Classroom Coral Reef’ project will be tank-raised, meaning that they have been bred in captivity and not collected from the ocean.

The breeding system consists of three tiers.  The top tier holds the ten gallon tanks that will house the broodstock.  The middle tier will hold round, black plastic tubs for rearing fish larvae after they’ve hatched.  The bottom tier will house the phtyoplankton and zooplankton cultures required for feeding the larvae and a tank or two of peppermint shrimp that we’ll try breeding as well.

Here are a couple of pictures of the broodstock living quarters:

Here is the sump, through which water from the broodstock tanks is circulated and filtered:

Here is the pump that moves the water through the system.  Note the spigot for easy water changes.

You’re invited!

Last, but not least, I’d like to invite you to join us for the Classroom Coral Reef Open House & Frag Swap on Friday, March 27th from 5:00 PM to 9:30 PM.  Please see the flyer below for details.  We hope to see you there!

Rough Times

At the beginning of December, I had discovered that several of the fish in the display were showing symptoms of hosting the parasite Cryptocaron irritans, or “marine ich”.  This discovery was particularly frustrating since all of the fish in the display aquarium were quarantined for six weeks before being added.  In that time, none of the fishes showed any signs of the disease.

As a result, a decision had to be made on how to treat (or not treat) the fish and move forward with the aquarium.  If left untreated, there was a good chance that all of the fish would pull through and be relatively unaffected by the disease.  However, the parasite would still be in the aquarium, and any stressful situations could lower the immunity of the fish and cause a widespread infestation.  Additionally, any new fish added to the aquarium would be exposed to the parasite.

I made the decision to treat the fish with copper medication, a well-established effective treatment for Cryptocaron irritans, for four weeks.  This necessitated removing all of the fish from the display and treating them in hospital tanks, since copper medication is fatal to invertebrates (corals, shrimp, snails, crabs, etc.).  On December 9, 2008, I spent a few hours after school removing all of the rock and corals from the aquarium, capturing the fish, and beginning the copper treatment.

As of today, all of the fish have survived the treatment, and will be held out of the display aquarium for another four weeks.  This will allow the fish-dependent parasite to die off without any hosts.  Looking at the silver lining: This was a great lesson about parasitism and the effects it can have in a closed system.

Onward and Upward!

In the meantime, the reef tank invertebrates have been thriving!  The corals are showing nice growth (and are being fed twice a week with ‘Coral Frenzy’).  Water quality has been easy to maintain without any fish in the display and nuisance algae has continued to decrease.  Here are a few random shots taken today:

Recent News

Things are progressing nicely in the classroom reef.  Nuisance algae associated with a newly established aquarium is diminishing as things stabilize.  New fish selections have been made based on student research and recommendations, and will arrive at the beginning of December.  (I will reveal which species were selected when they arrive!)  Additionally, students will begin helping with the maintenance chores associated with the tank.  I have opened this “opportunity” up to all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who are interested in helping out, and the response thus far has been terrific.

Thanks!

We have been fortunate enough to be the recipients of several generous donations of equipment and corals.  I cannot express my gratitude enough to the donors.

Photos

Here is a photo of the future marine fish breeding system.  Tim from ABC Reefs generously donated the ten gallon tanks pictured that will be used for our broodstock.

Additionally, we also received a bunch of gorgeous Acropora and Montipora coral frags, as well as a beautiful Euphyllia.  Thanks, Henry!  The camera does not do these corals justice!

Here are some random shots of the aquarium:

Thanks for looking!

New additions

We have recently added the lyretail anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) to the display aquarium, and they have settled in nicely.  The male, who is a gorgeous purple color, is still a bit camera-shy!

Also, I have donated some reef fish from my home aquarium: a scribbled rabbitfish (Siganus doliatus) and a yellow-eye Kole tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus).  These fellows weren’t interested in a photo-op today, so I’ll have to post some pictures of them at a later date.

Here are some more random shots of corals:

Here’s a shot of the sump in action:

Here is a pic of the refugium.  Note there has been lots of macroalgae growth, which is a good thing!  (It competes for nutrients with nuisance algae that would plague the display aquarium.):

Using the aquarium as a teaching and learning tool

Today marked the first time that the aquarium has been “officially” used as a teaching tool.  To date, there have been lots of informal observations and discussions about the reef aquarium, but no formal lessons.

We are in the midst of our ecology unit, which is a hefty part of the seventh grade science curriculum, yet is one of the most enjoyable for the students.  Earlier this week, students viewed the Blue Planet: Coral Seas video, and worked in groups to create posters highlighting corals, the reef community, and threats to coral reefs.  This provided a common background experience for all of the students, and stimulated lots of interest due to the incredible videography and the fact that students recognized some of the organisms in the video because of the aquarium.

Today, students embarked on a research project where they will each identify two species of fish and two species of invertebrates that they would like to add to the classroom aquarium.  They will need to investigate the care and requirements for each species, and will then craft a writing piece to persuade me to select their favorite species for inclusion in the aquarium.  I will post samples of student writing when available.  Thus far, this has been a highly motivating, engaging activity.

On the horizon:

We are still in the process of building our marine fish and invertebrate breeding setup.  Currently, the rack that will hold the broodstock, larval, and juvnile growout tanks has been built, and most of the equipment has been secured.  I plan on having this system up and running within the next month.

I would also like to have students start participating in this blog as we profile different reef species.  Stay tuned for more!

As of two days ago, the quarantine period of our Blackbar Chromis (Chromis retrofasciata) had to be cut short.  Although diminutive in size, these little guys are very aggressive to conspecifics.  In the 10 gallon quarantine tank, one fish from the group would be “voted” as the outcast, and would then bear the brunt of the other fishes’ aggression.

Since the fish were in good health and eating well, I made the decision to transfer them to the display tank.  This  environment would provide the fish with more swimming room, hiding structures/territories, as well as high water flow.  At this point, the move seems to be preventing them from picking each other off one by one.

Here are some pictures of the Blackbar chromis shoaling near their preferred rock stack.  None of the fish stray too far from this area of the aquascape.

Other new additions

The tank is maturing nicely, and the water parameters are such that it is safe to begin the addition of easy-to-keep corals to the aquarium.  The following pieces were “fragged” from my reef aquarium at home.

Mushroom corals (Corallimorpharians)

Green Star Polyps (Clavularia viridis)

Hammer coral (Euphyllia parancora)

Kenya tree (Capnella spp.)

And last but not least, a generous donation of green Nepthea spp. from a local reefkeeper. (Thanks, Ruud!)

The display aquarium has just about completed its initial cycle, so we have some new residents joining us.  Assorted snails, hermit crabs, and an emerald crab have been added to the tank to serve as part of our “cleanup crew”.  These animals consume nuisance algae and help keep the rock, aquarium walls, and sandbed clean.

Additionally, we have added some fish to our quarantine tanks in the prep room.  These fish will spend the next four weeks here before being added to the display tank.  In a nutshell, quarantining inhabitants prevents the spread of disease to the display tank, and allows the fish to become acclimated and “beefed up” since they can feed in a non-competitive environment.

We have two species of fish currently in quarantine: Blackbar chromis (Chromis retrofasciata)

Lyretail anthias: (Pseudanthias squamipinnis)

Stay tuned for more information on these species!

Things have been hectic over the past week with the aquarium preparation as well as the regular “back to school” preparations.

Last Friday, 125 lbs. of Tonga shelf “EcoRox”, (which were at one point part of a reef, but are not harvested from living reefs) and 75 lbs. of Tonga “Fusion” live rock were added to the aquarium.  This begins the “hurry up and wait” period as the nitrogen cycle becomes established.

A pillar of rocks was made for the left side of the aquarium by drilling the rocks and inserting a 1/2″ acrylic rod through the holes to provide support for the pillar.  This will also prevent the rocks from tumbling over onto fish and corals during routine tank maintenance.  The remainder of the aquascape was created by stacking rocks as securely as possible.

Left side:

Right side:

Full tank shot:

The plumbing is just about complete and today the system passed its first “wet test” with freshwater.

Here is the aquarium full of freshwater with all pumps running:

Here are some more “Rube Goldberg” like pictures of the sump and plumbing in the prep room:

The RO/DI system is connected, and saltwater production will begin tomorrow.

More to come!