A few days ago, a school teacher in Pennsylvania reached out to me. Mike Krautzel teaches an elective Horticulture and Aquaculture class at Garnet Valley Middle School. It’s as much a year-round project as it is a single course, which focuses on various flora and fauna around the world. It is such a popular course that hundreds of students sign up for it each year. Mike contacted me thinking I might have some cichlid caves that I would be willing to donate for part of their project.
I replied to Mike and told him that I didn’t have anything to donate but that I would do two things: 1) I would write a blog post about their program and 2) I would reach out to some vendors.
In addition to a previously built 10,000-gallon koi pond that they still maintain, they also have 25 fish tanks. One focus of this year’s project is African cichlids, which they’re dedicating five tanks to – three 125s, a 300, and two 90s (gallons). Students set up and maintain these tanks and spend time learning about the occupants.
I honestly can’t think of a better way to both expose children to fish keeping and help them learn. Though I think all fish keepers play a part in sustaining the hobby, working with children is one of the best ways to “pay it forward.”
In an effort to better understand the scope of the project, I asked Mike a few questions.
If you’re a vendor and would like to donate to this school effort, reach out to me. To protect Mike from spam, I’m not going to post his contact info here. Vendors who have pitched in with fish and/or supplies, besides those Mike mentions below, include Seachem and Oase.
One program in your Horticulture and Aquaculture class is quite aquarium focused. This year, you’re focusing on African cichlids. Talk a bit about what you hope your students learn about them and the lakes they come from.
Every year the students are given a task to find a new type of fish they want to learn about. Our program has studied saltwater fish, coral reefs, Japanese koi, and fancy goldfish. This year, the students wanted to study African cichlids. Our main focus is going to be on the fish from Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi. The students focus will be on the variety of fish from the lakes, the water parameters, and how the lakes impact all life that surround them.
Talk a little about the species of cichlids you are working with and where you sourced them.
There have been several places where we have received support for our Lake Tanganyika fish. Everything Frontosa and Arin White have provided the fish for our 125-gallon Tanganyika Tank. They have also been vital in providing supplies and knowledge for our fish from Lake Tanganyika. They have not only supplied the fish but answered all of our questions about how to care for the fish as well. We are currently taking care of a school of Blue Moba Frontosa and a school of Cyprichromis leptosoma Bala point, four Synodontis lucipinnis and a school of Xenotilapia ochrogenys Ndole Bay.
The Wet Spot and Aquarium World in Boothwyn, PA have also been very supportive. Their support of our project has been nothing short of amazing!!! They are providing the fish, supplies, and support for the class. The fish will go into a 92-gallon, pie shaped tank. The fish they have provided are Neolamprologus caudopunctatus, Neolamprologus leleupi, Neolamprologus sexfasciatus, Neolamprologus cylindricus, Neolamprologus pulcher, Julidochromis marlieri, Altolamprologus compressiceps gold face, Lepidiolamprologus kendalli, and Synodontis lucipinnis.
We have three 125-gallon tanks filled with African peacocks and haps. We decided not to include Mbuna species as of yet. Many companies have helped us with these tanks. Jersey cichlids, Maryland Cichlid Room, Faas Aquatics, Aquarium World of Boothwyn PA, Ofishell Aquariums, Pat Kelly, Concordville Nissan, Cunningham Cichlids, Daves Rare Aquarium Fish, and Imperial Tropicals. These companies have been crucial in supplying us with fish and knowledge.
We are currently setting up a 300-gallon, 8ft long tank for a future cichlid project, if anyone wants to be involved in helping us load this tank with Cichlids. This tank will be the show piece of our aquarium room.
Talk a little about how your students are taught to care for the fish. How do you distribute maintenance responsibilities, etc?
The job of the students for the tanks is to learn about tank aggression, water quality, and tank maintenance. They will observe daily the fish interaction and behavior. They will learn how to minimize tank aggression through several techniques. They will learn about changing tank scenery, adding and removing fish to put in time out until they can behave. They will water test and learn how to understand the results of the test and how to fix any water quality issues, focusing on ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as well as pH. As far as tank maintenance, they will learn about the importance of water changes and why we do water changes and how it impacts the water chemistry of a tank.