Tank In School

[BettaBettas]

(this was inspired by iter)
 
So I was thinking and I thought (^^^^) that putting a 10-20G fish tank in my schools biology class would be a good idea, its a high school and im a sophomore there, my bio teacher likes me lol so would it be ok you think with her if I put a tank in there?
It would be aquascaped with basic fish with basic needs and stuff, snails shrimp and tetras? any ideas? how to persuade her?

 

[Aquarian58]

In my opinion, the most important thing to consider is who will look after it, on a daily basis and during vacation time.
 
Specifically, feeding, water management, lighting control and monitoring the tank for "problems" with your fish, plants, filtration and anything else associated with the set up
 
There's also a question about security and whether or not anyone has access to it during or outside school hours.
 
If you can manage these things effectively and convince your teacher that it would not become a liability for her or the school, it could be a real asset to the classroom
 
Good luck with your project 

 

[LyraGuppi]

Aquarian has some very, very good points up there ^
 
Having a functioning ecosystem in a biology class could be great for study and observation. (as long as it's cared for) Maybe tell her you'd like to make an aquarium to show how aquatic ecosystems work? A biotope tank would be cool for a class.

 

[cooledwhip]

Sounds cool. I would just use massive amounts of pearl weed. Super easy to grow and looks gorgeous when it's flourishing. Or maybe a type of sword. Just make it very low tech so the chances of algae blooms are zero.
 
Put a single strain of fish in there and let them go wild and breed on their own. Like a guppy or endler or something.

 

[BettaBettas]

endlers eat shrimp, guppies ive never enjoyed personally, but really first I need 2 see if I can even do this. also aquar. thanks sm for the comment, I tought about that and its also in my bucket list of To Think Abouts lol

 

[cooledwhip]

I just skimmed your post I didn't read the part about shrimp.
 
Also have you ever kept shrimp and endlers before? Shrimp are bigger than most endlers bro...
And about LyraGuppi's comment, if you did have an ecosystem you most likely wouldn't be able to do LOTS of fish. I personally like guppies for low maintenance tanks like this because they nibble and live off algae and other things like small snails, etc. I see them picking at things all over my tank.
 
A heavily planted tank with a couple guppies and some snails and shrimp would be very cool because it would be so little maintenance and it would actually be an ecosystem. Most aquariums people have aren't ecosystems because they are caring so much for a specific species of fish. Like all discus tanks, or all angelfish tanks. They are nice, but not really an ecosystem.

 

[BettaBettas]

I said id have like 8 tetras which isn't overstocked in a 15G (lets say since its in between 10-20) and I don't keep easy (well to me they are considered) fish such as guppies endlers, tetras are ok but Im not a fan over the to showy stuff. and yes endlers do eat shrimp, just because a shrimps bigger doesn't mean its very defensive, ive seen a few vids and done some research to say that.
Also I planned to have nerite snails, and some other snails (not to many to be overstocked) and a few shrimp (like 3-4) of unknown kind. also
im planning to have a 65G discus tank lol its just going to be flatbottom

 

[Aquarian58]

Another thing you need to consider is what it will cost you on a weekly or monthly basis to maintain the tank.
 
If you already have a tank, filters, pump(s), heater(s), lights, plants, decorative features, etc, etc which you can loan or donate to your school, that will help, but if not, you will need to purchase them with your own or someone else's money.
 
And then there are the fish to stock it and maintain it because you will undoubtably lose a few from time to time, especially in the early stages of the tank's life.
 
Your school may subsidise the project at some stage if you persuade them that it's viable but initially be prepared to wear the total cost of it unless you are told otherwise.
 
I agree with cooledwhip that you should at least start with a single strain of live-bearers like Guppies or Mollies which are low maintenance and high return for a project like this

 

[BettaBettas]

The price is a good question but I've covered this ordeal, thankfully.
Splitting it 50/50 with the school. its a 20G with no Co2 and basic but pretty plants and a good view.
I wouldn't want them to pay for the whole thing because they have absolutely no clue if im good at this or not! :I
The fish will be stocked like this.
2 snails of some kind 1 being nerite
3-4 shrimp cherry or ghost
5-6 tetras most likely black, I have 6 and they've lived for quite some time giving me no game.
Ferts will be added in the beginning but nothing extreme, eventually ill lower dosage to nothing.
Later on the Teacher will be held reliable for the fish and aquariums health. which wont be hard sprinkle some food maybe an algae tablet once every now and then, maybe not even needed. food will though.
etc

 

[0_Infinite_0]

My old Environmental Science teacher had quite a few different animals in her class. She had a snake, mice, and some fish. The fish were native to my state though, which required huge tanks. She would make kids who got detention clean the cages and tanks. XD 

 

[BettaBettas]

dude I would get detention all the time then

 

[cooledwhip]

I said id have like 8 tetras which isn't overstocked in a 15G (lets say since its in between 10-20) and I don't keep easy (well to me they are considered) fish such as guppies endlers, tetras are ok but Im not a fan over the to showy stuff. and yes endlers do eat shrimp, just because a shrimps bigger doesn't mean its very defensive, ive seen a few vids and done some research to say that.
Also I planned to have nerite snails, and some other snails (not to many to be overstocked) and a few shrimp (like 3-4) of unknown kind. also
im planning to have a 65G discus tank lol its just going to be flatbottom

If you don't keep "easy" fish, why do you keep bettas? 
 
I raised a betta in a toilet bowl for a year once.
 
Haha jk. but they are pretty easy though.
 
With all due respect, you are 100% wrong with endlers eating cherry shrimp. I have had endlers with cherry shrimp, boesemani rainbows with RCS, I used to have a colony of a couple hundred RCS. Never have I had any be "eaten".
 
Also the teacher would have to do weekly water changes, don't forget about that.
 
Plus, if you don't want to have to do any ferts, just dirt the tank. I have dirted all my tanks ever since I started my first dirted tank. After I saw the results I didn't want to go back to anything else. Dirt has so many nutrients, which are vital for live in plants. You don't need a lot, just a half an inch at most. 1/4 inch works great as well. Plus you can have sword and crypts FLOURISH.
 
If you are interested in taking the dirt route I can show you my 45 gallon super tall. I dirted that one, I don't even add ferts anymore. It's actually in a similar situation as you, it's at an office I set it up for. Automatic feeder and everything. They don't even touch it. I just go in once a week and do water changes. My crypts have flourished so much they spread all around the tank and I only planted in parts around the rocks. The Jungle val I have in there has multiplied so long and so wide it's crazy. It's something that non-dirted tanks will NEVER be able to accomplish.
 
Also for the tetras, they are recommended in groups of at least 8. And they can be pretty finicky. That's why I suggested guppies or endlers. Some lyretail guppies would be nice.
Plus guppies will breed on their own in the tank. You will multiply your colony if you have enough plants, and THAT would be awesome for your teacher and students to see. Much more interesting to have things going on in the tank rather than boring tetras.

 

[ZephyrStarPlaties]

Junior in high school here. Frankly, I tend to oppose class pets that aren't brought in by the teacher. They won't be that invested in the tank's care, given that it's not originally theirs, and someone's gotta do water changes. Not to mention that once you talk about fish with the class, very few will care, and a few may even try to put foreign objects in the tank/mess with the fish.

 

[Baccus]

I have seen too many tanks in schools, offices and nursing homes that started off with the best of intentions but once the orginal instigator of the tank leaves the school/ office etc then the tank quickly falls to rack and ruin. As ZephyrStarPlaties pointed out kids will put all sorts of things into fish tanks (and other animals enclosures) out of idle curiosity and sometimes down right cruelty, and because these tanks and cages are often in science classrooms the potential to put really harmful things in the tank is greater. Therefore if you really want to set up an ecosystem tank I would aim to only make a temporary one that could be classed as credits for Biology/ science class and can be taken home at the end of the semester or school year. Even as a temporary instillation at the school their is still  chance that other students will play around with the water/ livestock but hopefully the chances of a complete disaster is limited by the timeframe.
 
If you do go ahead and set up temporary ecosystem then I would suggest you set out a clearly defined type of ecosystem. If possible start off with plants (easy to grow types with no ferts or Co2 needed) and add daphnia and possibly seed shrimp along with something like tubifex, blood worms or blackworms, then a possibly a low grade cherry shrimp. This would be the beginnings of a food chain, once these early colonies are established you could add a small fish species that will more than likely eat any worms they find, along with daphnia and shrimplets. Guppies or endlers (I know you don't like these but they will easily display lifecycle and predate on their own offspring) are good fish to show the food chain in action. You could then document each and every stage of the ecosystem set up and reasons for the stages which would go a long way for a teacher agreeing to mark it as a class credit.

 

[BettaBettas]

zephyr, idk about that. my high school is very mature surprisingly and I have yet to see anyone fight which is crazy to me lol. also not everyone wont care there's always that 1 person who is like: O_O but yea lol thanks for the comment and stuff
 
cooledwhip im not getting endlers.
 
thanks for the comment Baccus, as I said before my high schools pretty mature, yata yata yata, my bio class has a pet lizard and everyone loves him, they don't abuse there privilege of having him in there. and ill be attending this school for 2 more years until I graduate so, I think that after school I can manage the water changes. of course this wont happen all the time, heres some good news the biology teacher keeps fish as well, which I knew and neglected to say sorry, but she has a 30G (not bad) and she said she claims to have it for like a year or so. she knows her stuff in my opinion cause we talk about it all the time XD probably annoy her to death
also love your class credit idea, didn't think about he offspring of the shrimp feeding the fish, that's a grand idea! ill probably use that lol if its ok with you,
 
Cooled whip, not getting guppies really you can stop suggesting them to me.
 
"Officially" Tetras are said to be in schools of 6 (in captivity not in the wild, there's like 1000's lol its pretty)
Also im pretty sure im not ABSOLUTELY 100%%%% wrong with he endlers eating shrimp, youtube or google it. there's been 1 endler in this entire world throughout history to eat 1 shrimp of any kind. its 2016
 
Anyways guys gals thanks for the suggestions, or thanks to the people who did give or leave a suggestion. Baccus thanks as well I've taken the shrimp thin into consideration and will probably go on with it.
 
 
Also Im very surprised that this forum didn't have as many "Encouraging" Comments as it did for my friend Iter, which is upsetting for its life and reality sooo x3
 
 
 
AND I think everyone has forgotten that this may not even be happening, so stop being so dramatic people (not gonna point out who) its not the end of the world :O T-T