Eyes are now clearly visible on the ova at the Stronsay mini-hatchery. Even though the water temperature is on average 4 or 5ºC warmer than on Sanday or at KGS (due to 2 freezers in the shed!) it doesn’t seem to make a great difference. It’ll be interesting to see which ova hatch first! Who is going to report the first alevin?
(Don’t forget to click on the photos for full size)
Mr.P
That’s it ! The eyes are now clearly visible on the Sanday eggs! From now on, it should be really interesting to follow the growth of the embryos and in a couple of weeks, look for any sign of foam on the sides of the tank: a light foam is the result of enzymes breaking down the eggs as they hatch. By the time you’re back from your mid-term break next Monday, I’m sure we’ll notice a big difference with the ova.
Mr. P
KGS are preparing themselves for a bumper hatch as they were issued with around 800 brown trout ova! They have done such a good job at removing the odd dead ovum and maintaining the water quality that there has been very few casualties and everything is looking promising! A couple of weeks to go before the alevins start coming out of their shells…
Well done to all those involved in the project!
Mr.Pietri
The Stronsay ova have made very good progress this week and we can clearly see the eyes developing (look at the egg in the middle!). The hatching conditions in the Stronsay shed are near ideal with a water temperature around 9ºC and total darkness. There has been very few losses so far and let’s hope it lasts!
Well done to all the pupils on the rota who check the tank every break-time.
Mr.P
Yesterday, January 30th, the first ova hatched at the Dounby School and today over 20 alevins were counted! There is no doubt that this is much earlier than in the other 3 schools running the same project. There is a significant difference in the mini-hatchery set-up at the Dounby School though: the tank has been placed in a cool cupboard inside the school and even though it is cooler than the rest of the school, the water temperature has been averaging 17°C (in comparison, the water temperature recorded at the Sanday mini-hatchery today was 4.7ºC). This much higher water temperature has had the effect of speeding up the hatching process. Last year, the first alevins appeared on Hoy on February 24th, nearly 4 weeks later! However, a high water temperature has a serious drawback as algae and fungus thrive much better in a warm environment. The figures, taken from http://trootinthecupboard.wordpress.com/ , show that so far about 100 ova have died and 21 have hatched successfully. Well done to the pupils and staff for hatching these ova in very challenging conditions!
Mr. P
So far, “Troot in the Shed 2012” is running smoothly on the island of Stronsay! Apart from 5 casualties on the first day, probably caused by the transport on the plane in a thermos flask, there have only been 2 more casualties. The pupil rota is working well and every day, the tank is checked, dead eggs removed and water and air temperatures recorded. No long before we can see some of the ova “eyeing up”…
Mr. P
After travelling on the plane in a thermos flask last Tuesday, the ova at the Sanday school are doing very well! There were 5 casualties on the first day and only another 2 since then, which leaves us with about 270 eggs to look after!
The pupils have been checking the set-up on a daily basis, making sure the pump is working and that no dead eggs are left at the bottom of the tank, to prevent any fungal growth.
Keep up the good work!
Mr.P
all together only 5 dead eggs (3 due to traveling) but water temperature has gone up to 10.4 degrees!
(Craig – Stronsay)
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