The term “fish hatchery” usually conjures images of warehouse-like buildings replete with stainless steel vats, incubators, pipes from here to there, and concrete raceways and ponds holding fish in various life stages. One of the closest fish hatcheries to the homes of most chapter members, however, resides in the library of the Lyons Elementary School. The Lyons Elementary School’s 5th grade class has participated in the Trout Unlimited-sponsored Trout in the Classroom (TIC) program for several years now!
Each fall a group of volunteers including parents, teachers, chapter members, and the school principal sets up two 55-gallon aquariums in the school library, as the elementary currently lacks a STEM or other science lab. Aquariums are outfitted with the necessary filters, pumps, and chillers. This year, water-quality monitoring took a high-tech turn with the installation of Seneye monitors, allowing data to be transmitted remotely. The tanks are filled with water then left to run through the nitrogen cycle—the biological process that converts ammonia and nitrites, which are toxic to fish, into relatively harmless nitrates before introducing trout eggs.
Students learned the Colorado record rainbow trout measured almost 30" and wondered if it would fit in our tanks
Rainbow trout eggs from the Crystal Hatchery near Carbondale were delivered to the school in late September (thanks, Dick Shinton!). The eggs spent their early days in an egg tumbler which mimicked the flowing water of a river or stream bottom allowing the eggs to gently tumble which protected them from fungal growth, and contained them for easier removal of unhealthy eggs. Once the eggs hatched, the alevins (or sac fry) were transferred to breeder baskets which allowed them to grow a bit more before hitting the relatively open water of the tank. As many swim-up fry never learn to eat, there is typically a small spike in mortality during this stage. Fortunately, all of the remaining fish are now approaching true fingerling status and roughly three-quarters of the original egg stock are happily swimming around each tank.
As there are two tanks to monitor and maintain, rotating teams of eight 5th graders spend the first part of their morning for a week at a time working with the tanks. Students take turns performing water tests—testing for nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia levels, as well as tank pH—cleaning the tanks and occasionally changing water and adding biologic elements depending on water test results, monitoring equipment, and recording results and tank status on their school-issued iPads. All data flows into a QR Code-accessible Google Drive for easy record keeping and analysis.
What do students learn by running an officially State-licensed and permitted hatchery out of the library? Students monitor the life cycle of rainbow trout from egg to releasable fingerlings, learn the nitrogen cycle and other tank chemistry, and a host of watershed intricacies involving macroinvertebrates, the food chain, and our impacts on the environment. Additionally, this year STEM Coordinator and Teacher Sarah Wegert has introduced several STEM-related activities and thought exercises including: “How might we design structures for fish shelter with the help of 3D printing?” “How might we keep track of variable fish feedings?” “How might we determine how accurate our automatic feeders are?” and “How might we best count our fish?”
Students test nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and pH levels every day
While rearing trout for release into our local watershed is a neat exercise, the most rewarding part of the program has been watching students become knowledgeable advocates for and conservationists of their home watershed. Trout Unlimited offers a one-year complimentary membership to all participating students to further this effort. The St. Vrain Anglers chapter has generously provided monetary support for chillers, filter pumps, and water-quality testing kits as well as innumerable volunteer hours.