The biggest salmon in the tank

This is one of the biggest, most aggressive salmon in the tank this year, the salmon with the best chances of survival BIG BOY 1.5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
       He has attacked different salmon many many times and for a Smolt is huge. He out grows every other salmon in the tank by 1/2 an inch. On his back is a slight mossy color indicating that he is older or more mature then some of the smaller less aggressive salmon. His stripes reflect better as well. He is easily the biggest salmon in the tank.

Tools

There are a lot of important tools that we use in a daily bases like the: 

Strainer: the strainer is used to make sher the  fish do not get out or go into the sink  the strainer looks like this...........

                                           

Predators and Prey

                       Predators and Prey

Known Predators: Striped Bass (Monroe saxatives), American Shad (Alosa Sapidissimo), Sculpins (Cottoidei), Gulls (Laridae), Bears (Ursinae), Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca), Sea lions (Otariidae), Seals (Phocidae), Otters (Lutrinae), Eagles (Accipitridae), Terns (Laridae), Cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae).

Prey:Bloater, Alewife, Round gobby, Rainbow smelt, and Slimy sculpin fish. Some prey of young Chinook salmon are insects, Larvae, and Crustaceans.

Questions and answers

Molly-Why do bigger salmon survive and smaller salmon don't?
                  A: Why because the littler fish cant swim as good as the bigger fish

Paige - What is the smallest type of salmon?
              A: pink salmon  is the smallest type of salmon  they only get up to 30 inches and up to 12 pounds and the average is 3 to 5\

Chris-how long do salmon  usaly live?

         A:salmon live 2 to 7 years
Paige- do salmon have bones
            A: yes salmon do have bones

Feeding time

We feed the salmon 3 times a day. We feed them after specials, after lunch and before 2nd recess. 

When we feed them we give them 2-3 pinches of food. When we drop the food into the tank the salmon go Crazy and dart for the food. 

If you put your hand on top of the tank while we are feeding them they will try to jump up and nip you. ( which means that they are hungry. )

This is the fish food .

Big Boy

Big Boy

           Big boy is HUGE! At the fry stage most salmon are close to 1 and a half inches in length but apparently this big fish hates to blend into the crowd. 
         He's around 2 inches in length and compared to some other fish he's twice the size! He has also tried to devour 2 of his fellow siblings.         
What makes him so big is his dorsal fin. His dorsal fin is 1 centimeter in length and his pelvic and anal fin are both half a centimeter in length. 
        All you have to do to find Big Boy in the tank is to find a huge salmon that has huge fins. ( And every so often is feasting on other fry). Chances of his survival are higher compared to some others because normally the more fit fish survive to the point of release.
But out of total disbelief he died on February 24, 2016.

Freaky Fishy days of February

In February we had some scary times were the nitrite level was very high.
 It got up to 15.0 which is higher than it's been all year. We have lost 60 total Chinook Salmon in these freaky times of February.
 We did not know that the tank was suppose to be filled up to the top causing uneeded nitrite to fill up in the unused space.
For a little while, the nitrite level went down to safe standards but on February 24 2016 it went back up.
We thought that once we filled the tank back up the scary times would diminish. We were wrong!

       The nitrite level climbed the scale once again. It isn't as bad as it was at the start of freaky fishy days of February but 10.0 is still of the charts. 
       The nitrite is suppposed to be below 1.0 but obviously mister nitrite is not cooperating.
For now we'll just hope for the best and try to flow through.