Yesterday our eels left us for their trip back down the Bristol where they will be released into their native river. Unfortunately, we were unable to release them locally as they carry a parasite that would infect our local population of eels.
It has been a great experience having the eels in the classroom and we’ve all enjoyed looking after them. We will miss them!
Today we went down to the River Bowmont with Patrick and Kenny to do some electrofishing. We found loads of different types of fish from a really small section of river. The children then had to use a key to identify each fish that had been found.
They also brought along a yellow eel that had been caught in the Tweed so the children could see how big they grow.
Look how many they caught!
^lamprey
^ beardie
The children also finished off their stop motion animation films and added in their voiceover scripts that they wrote this week! A huge amount of learning has taken place during this topic.
The eels were fed and cleaned out today.
As the bell rang for hometime an eagle eyed Janet spotted that an eel had got itself caught inside the mesh bag around the filter! A dramatic rescue took place ensuring that the eel was returned to its rightful place in the tank.
Phew!
Was this the eel that got caught? Who knows!
Today when Mrs McNee came into school the pump was not working properly. When she took it apart an eel was discovered stuck inside which was blocking the pump. There was also an eel stuck in the mesh bag, which was released back into the tank safely!
A very eventful Monday morning!
RIP Mr (or Mrs) Eel!
Today Patrick came to visit the class. He checked on the eels and said we were doing a really good job of keeping the tank clean.
We spent the afternoon making stop motion animation films about the eels life cycle. Eels are critically endangered and raising awareness of the dangers they face is a great way to try and help them.
The afternoon zoomed by as we were so busy making our films!
Today Rachel and Janet had to clean out the tank, eels poo a lot!
The eels become really active when you start cleaning the tank as they are expecting to be fed. Luckily we’ve had no more escapees!
Today we had to clean the filter and add fresh water to the tank.
Liam, Ellie and Fern had to remove the filter and clean the sponge in the dirty water bucket. We had to hoover up any eel poo before putting the filter back in and adding 3 jugs of fresh water.
The eels enjoy hiding in and around their little house.
Today whilst Emily C, Harry and Katie were hoovering the tank one adventurous eel decided it would make a break for freedom by getting itself sucked up the tube! The eel was quickly rescued from the bucket using the net and carefully placed back into the tank with the rest of its eel family.
They were all eager for their breakfast.
Tank temperature: 20*C.
