The Question of the Day

What everyone wants to know is WHEN ARE THE FISH COMING? Well, the answer comes in two parts:

1. We're not getting fish right away. We're getting Brook Trout EGGS in the "eyed" stage from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

2. The EGGS will be coming some time in October, but the exact date has not yet been determined. We'll have to wait until the female fish at the hatchery actually lay the eggs, and the eggs have a chance to develop from the "green" stage, when they are extremly fragile, to the "eyed" stage.

Stay tuned!

The Tank is Full! (of water, that is)

The trout tank has now been filled with water. Filling it was no small task. After all of the equipment was delivered, and the stand for the tank was assembled, there was still much to do before the water was put in.

The chiller, which keeps the water to a cool 55 degrees, had to be set up. The filter, which keeps the water clean, had to be installed. The bubbler, which oxygenates the water, had to be up and running. And, the gravel and lava rocks that provide the substrate (bottom of the tank) where the fish and algea can hide, had to be cleaned and layed out. And a thermometer was installed to allow us to track the tank temperature.

When all of those things were done, 55 gallons of clean water were added to the tank. That took lots of trips to the sink in the teachers lounge!