Horseshoe Crabs 2012/2013: aquarium sand in salt water aquarium

Introducing: Horseshoe Crabs in the Classroom, Take 2

During the 2011/2012 school year, we had a program called Horseshoe Crabs in the Classroom at our elementary school. This program is offered through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and it's a great idea for a number of reasons - letting kids learn about these incredible pre-dinosaur animals while, maybe, helping add a few more of these amazing animals to the Chesapeake Bay.

Last year, we ended up with no live horseshoe crabs (HSC) and I think this was because of over-zealousness on my part for ridding the aquarium of an unwanted fungus or at least what I thought was fungus. The 4th graders, though, were very enthusiastic and they learned a lot about the critters even though they never saw a live one in their classroom. Sigh.

This year, though, now that the teacher (me) is a bit more experienced, I think we'll have better luck. So here's Take 2...

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

June 20 - green eggs and tank

This morning, the tank looked pretty clear so I transferred the eggs from the aerated bucket to the tank - also aerated. It looks a bit murky in the video but that's because I took some of the sand out and stirred things up again in the process. It was a bit tricky washing the bucket out with conditioned water and hoping not to damage eggs in the process but they're all there. Now it's a waiting game. Good luck little eggs!

(2 hours: additional work with water and transferring sand, taking the video, changing blog format/design)