TIC Weekly - Week 5
TIC Weekly will feature PFBC’s Trout In the Office (TIO) updates as they raise Rainbow Trout from eyed eggs to fingerlings.
Hello PA TIC participants and partners!
In this week's newsletter, we release our Trout in the Office from the egg baskets and into our aquarium. This is an exciting event! We will begin to see how the Trout utilize both the habitat and the flow that is present in our system.
Stay tuned! Next week, we will have another exciting update for our TIO aquarium!
In addition, for the week of November 16th, we will go on another virtual field trip with more special guest appearances! For this virtual field trip, we will be investigating Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD).
Observations
Our Trout have become very active and are competing with each other for food. A few of them have managed to escape from the egg baskets! We think it's time to release them and introduce them to their new home.
Once released, the Trout immediately begin to orient their bodies in the direction of flow. This allows them to take water into their mouth and through their gills more efficiently! This also gives them a better line of sight when it comes to searching for food. Throughout our aquarium, we have multiple directions of flow. You can use the fish to see exactly how the water is flowing!
PFBC’s Trout In the Office Eggs arrived on September 25, 2020!
Water Quality Parameters
Temp - 55 F pH - 8.2 Ammonia - 0.25 ppm
Nitrites - 0 ppm Nitrates - 20 ppm DO - 10.9 ppm
Now that we are feeding our Trout regularly, we have decided to schedule a weekly 10% water change. The water change will ensure that the extra waste in our system does not lead to any ammonia spikes that our fish cannot handle. Using the gravel vacuum to remove excess material from the substrate will further benefit our TIO fish!
Life Stage Facts
The TIO Trout are actively swimming around and exploring. In the stream, when Trout leave the Redd, it is common for them to seek out areas with good cover. We can associate good habitat with good cover, as these components will help fish avoid predation. You might also start to notice some aggression within these fish during this stage. Once fish find a suitable location that meets their chemical and physical needs, they are more likely to defend it!