Middle school aquarium program revisited

Back in 2022, I interviewed Mike Krautzel, a teacher at Garnet Valley Middle School in Pennsylvania. He designed an aquarium program for the students as part of a Horticulture and Aquaculture course. Needless to say, the program has thrived. In fact, Mike’s class continues to add fish tanks. 

The most recent addition to their aquarium portfolio is a 220-gallon. It was donated by a local family along with the stand and tank lights (pictured below). Even though Mike’s class relies heavily on donations for their program, they have had no shortage of vendors who have offered free products. For this tank, Home Depot, Caribsea, Dr. Tims Aquatics, Aquatropics, Imperial Tropicals, and Florida Aquascaping all contributed.  

For a little background, at the start of each school year, the class is assigned the task of identifying a fish or group of fish that they don’t currently maintain in their numerous aquariums. The students must research, design, and present the idea of novel fishes and how they can provide the appropriate environment in a single tank. This year, after lots of discussion and planning, the students decided to foster a greater understanding of the horticulture and aquaculture of South America.

The new 220g tank will host a variety of fish, including several cichlids – Geophagus species, Severums, Chocolate cichlids, Uaru, Electric Blue Acara – as well as various species of Plecos. The aquarium will also be home to multiple plants, including Amazon Swords, Anubias, Hornwort, and many others.

Directly from Mike:

This has been a valuable educational project for the students. We are so thankful for everyone who has been involved in the process. The students loved the idea of setting up something novel, watching it take shape, and taking pride in calling it their own. From start to finish, the students rose to the challenges and were absolutely amazing, bringing their individual strengths to the project yet working with classmates to complete a common goal.

A few of the valuable educational outcomes that resulted from this project include developing skills in cooperative learning and working as part of a team, refining research skills, using communication skills to express unique ideas, and expanding the knowledge base of diverse environments. The students and I would like to send out a sincere thank you to all the people involved in making this a memorable and significant experience for our program.

A recurring theme from people I interview for the blog is the need to get more youth involved in the hobby.  I, too, am a huge fan of involving our youth in fish keeping. The hobby really depends on it. I would also like to point out that fish organizations like the American Cichlid Association (ACA) and local fish clubs around the country are making great strides here. They are not only encouraging and recruiting younger hobbyists but also including programs in their meetings that involve young fish enthusiasts.

If anyone or any company is interested in being a part of this program and future projects like this at Mike’s school, please contact him at krautzm@garnetvalley.org.