Using Aquaria To Teach Science

[Davisfamily2018]

I wasn't sure exactly where to get advice with this, but this seems to be a good section to get general advice from people with varied backgrounds and interests.

I teach Biology, and have been trying to implement my tanks into my lessons. I have a 55, 29, leaky 30, 5, and a literal army of 10 gallons (maybe twenty of them). This past year I taught the students (freshman/sophomores):

• Water testing with API Kits
• Mussel shells in acidic water vs. neutral over time
• Microscopy by looking at protists and larvae from pond scum/mud substrate
• Predicting phenotypes in Black/Albino Convict crosses (kids take "F1's" home)
• Population growth and carrying capacity using Duckweed
• Discussion about classification and Green Terrors followed by researching an organism and it's taxonomy
• Through the year students are in charge of feeding and performing WC's as we'll

With all that in mind I was wondering if any of you had ideas for other activities/labs involving fish tanks? There are content standards to follow, but they are very liberal in how it is taught. Content must focus on one or more of the following however:

• Macromolecules/basic biochem
• Cells
• Cellular respiration and photosynthesis
• Cell division (meiosis, mitosis)
• Genetics
• Natural selection
• Population genetics
• Taxonomy
• Ecology

If you could go back to high school and learn about these topics using fish tanks what would you like to do? What have you done in the past? Even if it seems impractical!

 

[Lepisosteus]

My high school used to have a couple tanks.

Ecology:symbiotic/parasitic relstionships. Saltwater example clownfish and anemone, parasitic wait until a fish gets Ick.

Taxonomy: minnow aquarium. Get different minnows, each under the same class or family but different genus and species

Genetics: guppy’s, platys anything easy to breed. Try breeding them for traits in the 10 gallons. Long tail, sword tail etc.

Natural selection: big fish eat little fish but preferably target the wounded/slow moving. The healthiest strongest survive. Lots of options here.

Population genetics: Get two different guppy tanks, a variety of guppy’s in each but each tank is identical in terms of the male/female ratio and the kind of guppy each male female is. Determine how the offspring varies after the F1, F2 generation

Cellular respiration and photosynthesis: high tech planted tank with co2 and get the plants to “peal”. Pearling is the visual release of oxygen into the water column.

Other things to be done:
-biome aquariums, look into the fish of your natural waterways.
- sustainability: aquaponics setup, demonstrates nutrient cycle as well. Very easy to do in a 30 gallon

 

[Lepisosteus]

Evolution: do some research on gar, stingrays (freshwater vs saltwater), specialized fish (archer fish, bushfish, etc)

Geographic isolation: corydoras species (some can handle freezing temperatures), Florida gar vs spotted gar

Speciation: lots of options again. Similar to the Minnow tank. Sunfish/bass would be good representation

 

[Lepisosteus]

Field trip to public aquarium. Go yourself prior and create exercises/activities. Take note of specialized fish, the biomes, any symbiotic relationships.

 

[Davisfamily2018]

Those are great ideas!