The Release

We are so excited for the salmon release on may 6th 2016 we have been through tough  times keeping these fish alive we have had to let some fish go and some of our specially cared for fish. We have had younger kids and older kids come in and see the fish and learn about the fish. People work hard to keep the salmon alive now we have to see them go .

This is the tank after the release we are so sad to see the tank empty 

this is anna one of our salmon helpers she gets 5 salmon to take home and so does chase a boy who helped separate all of the salmon into containers for the fourth grade to release  bye.

Junior Fry

Junior Fry is the smallest fish in the tank but still is not smaller than the already dead littlest. This salmon is really small making his odds of survival be extremely low. He is half the size of the gigantic Big Boy 1.5 and still has survived his 5 months in the tank. Right now Junior Fry isn't eating as much because he can't get over to the food quick enough. He just needs to survive for 3 more days and he will be the smallest salmon that we release. Junior Fry was first declared the smallest at around 2 weeks before release day.

Final Days

We are now just 2 days from releasing our salmon and when we look back we have done many great and not so great things. We have gotten through the freaky first days of fishy february and ended up with around 7 times more fish than last years group. Our salmon are now 2-3 inches and are around 4 months old. We have 93 salmon left which is way more than expected. A couple of the tools have broken over this year including the top of the tank and some of the test tubes.We have had many big and small salmon, Big Boy 1.5 and Junior Fry Once we release the salmon they will most likely go to Lake Michigan which is around 50 to 75 miles away, though if they go to lake superior which is deeper and bigger is 200 to 300 miles away. 

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