Horseshoe Crabs 2012/2013: brine shrimp

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...

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

July 10 - Update

I checked the chemicals in the tank yesterday. Everything looked pretty normal but for the first time - including last summer - I got reading of 10 for nitrates. Yikes! Everything else was fine. I checked the instructing book that said with nitrates, a reading of 100 would be reason for alarm. But I added some more biospira just in case. Probably didn't need to - but just in case. It was about a quarter of a bottle.

Also, today I added a cube of baby brine shrimp. Just in case. I think they're still mostly feeding off the yolk but maybe some of them are advanced enough to be eating food.