Making Aquariums

We began our aquarium project today. We made initial observations on the conditions in our aquariums before we added any living organisms -- we took measurements to determine the depth of the sand and the water. We measured the water temperature. We observed the appearance of the water and the sand inside of our aquariums. Then we added water plants, goldfish, and (in some cases) snails. We made notes about the size, appearance, and behavior of all of the elements that we added to our aquariums, and we made predictions about what we expect might happen in our aquariums over the next 21 days. Once we had all of that work completed, we settled our new fish in so that they could begin adjusting to their new environments.

Beginning tomorrow, we will watch the movie Finding Nemo, as a way to compare and contrast life inside an aquarium with life and behavior of similar organisms in the open habitats of the ocean and, specifically, on a reef.