GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) - Over the last three months, Chapman School students have gotten to know their baby rainbow trout well enough to give them nicknames.
One of the fish is called Bob the Bully. Even in schools of fish, bullying is a problem.
“They’re very territorial,” says third-grade teacher Scott Gamblin.
Fourth-grader Gage Starr calls one of the fish Paul Bunyan because he is “chubby.”
Fifth-grader Inara Stefanini refers to two of the creatures as Hotshot and Fireball. The latter moves fast.
Elizabeth Houghton calls one of the fish Squiggly “because he’s wobbly,” she said.
Another fish was called Curly. But he has passed away, probably because of the shape of his body, which inspired his nickname.
Chapman third-, fourth- and fifth-graders have been raising the rainbow trout since they arrived as eggs Jan. 16. The trout started to hatch Jan. 19.
They’re now about 2 inches long. The students recently said goodbye to them.
Twenty-one students went to Schramm Park State Recreation Area near Gretna to set the fish free.
This is the second straight year that Chapman has taken part in the Trout in the Classroom program, which is offered through Nebraska Game and Parks, The Grand Island Independent reported. The school received a grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust. A year ago, Chapman students also liberated their fish at Schramm.
Since the eggs arrived, the kids have devoted a lot of time to their care and feeding.
The students tested the water for ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
Hannah Weeks liked the testing because the students had to work together and get along.
Surprisingly, the students enjoyed cleaning the filters. That’s because the filters were “squishy,” said Miley Lynch.
The kids also learned a lot about science.
At one point, they dissected 10-inch rainbow trout and studied their insides at length.
They identified a fish’s kidney, liver, stomach, brain, heart, gills and spleen.
“We took out the eyeballs,” said Lia Martinez.
If they wanted to, Jasmine Ellsworth said, they could even put a scale under a microscope to see how old the fish was.
Testing the water, Olivia Wright said, was helpful because the students got to know kids in other grades better.
The students were taught about responsible treatment of lakes and rivers, as well as environmental concerns, said fourth-grade teacher Laura Erickson.
The kids got into the trout project in a big way.
“They really enjoy it,” said fifth-grader teacher Cindy Gamblin.
Seventy-three fish eggs arrived at the school in oxygenated water. Since then, some of the fish have died.
Schramm Park is an old fish hatchery, said Cindy Gamblin, who is Scott’s mother. The students will deposit the trout in a naturally fed stream that has been partitioned off.
The students know that some of the fish will die at Schramm. Some of the creatures, they realize, will be eaten by other fish.
Some of the fish, though, will have long, happy lives.
“I hope they live forever,” Utley said.
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Information from: The Grand Island Independent, http://www.theindependent.com
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