Reflection Essay: Setting Up An Aquarium

practice in the fish industry and provides a method of standardization for something as subjective

Aquaculture can be defined as farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants both in freshwater and saltwater. It has a wide range of ownerships from small family business to multimillionaire global industries.1It provides many job opportunities throughout the world. As an example Canadian aquaculture industry valued $ 5 billion Canadian dollars provides more than 130 000 jobs only in Canada.2Accelerated growth of aquaculture causes series of problems to both human health and environment.3Most bacterial species resides both in animals and well as in human will pathogenic to both. transfer of pathogens between the two host species is a common situation for most organisms.4 Most of the developing country aquatic farms are non-hygienic and stressful. This will lead to an increase of bacterial infection among most aquatic species. As a preventative and curative method farmers mix a huge amount of antimicrobial products with the aquatic feed.5 Since aquaculture is a global industry, Implemented laws and regulations are different from country to country. It is very difficult to implement global regulations relating to antimicrobial use.1

The purpose of this lab was to answer the question, “Of the saline solutions of 0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2% sodium chloride (NaCl), which solution will yield the highest hatching viability for the brine shrimp?” The hypothesis was that the saline solution most precise to the concentration of NaCl in seawater, which is approximately 3.5%, will yield the highest hatching viability. Therefore, the 2% NaCl solution will yield the highest hatching viability.

Temperature had a direct effect on oxygen consumption of crayfish, Orconectes propinquus. Crayfish acclimated to warm temperature (20 to 25 C) had a mean mass of 8.25g +/- 1.05. Crayfish acclimated to cold temperature (3 to 5 C) had a mean mass of 10.61g +/- 0.77. Oxygen consumption rates of 30-60 minute treatments were used and there was no significant difference between the two different treatments (t=0.48, df=58, P=0.70). The data from 0-30 minutes were not used because the crayfish were disrupted by transportation and the data were not normally distributed. The Q10 value was 1.05, representing that there was full compensation for oxygen consumption for the crayfish at two different acclimated temperatures. The oxygen consumption of crayfish was not affected significantly by two different temperatures (Figure 1).

On March 21st, our class went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The purpose of this trip was not only to explore Earth’s natural habitat’s, but it was also to gather information on our upcoming project and to gather information on how the community of St.Mary, affects the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The answer that we found out is one based off of what we eat. The Monterey Bay Aquarium released an app where it showed which type of seafood were lower in numbers than others. So, if plankton were very low in numbers, it is advised that we not fish for them or not eat as much of it. This shows based just off of what we eat, we can affect the numbers of in the ocean. Also, those plastic bags we buy at Target and Walmart, that we drop outside, drifts itself to the streams, which flow to rivers, which go to oceans, they are floating there, not doing much harm, until sea turtle comes by starts eating it, but gets tangled and choked in it, dies.

SeaWorld is a United States based park with live aquatic animals. SeaWorld has been under some scrutiny lately with the treatment of their Orcas as well as their living conditions. Some people believe what SeaWorld is doing is okay whereas others do not. Some think keeping animals in captivity is acceptable, and others think taking them away from their families is uncalled for. Washington Post believes what SeaWorld doing is perfectly acceptable. PBS a typically children’s network is completely for SeaWorld and keeping animals in captivity. SeaWorld is strongly debated on keeping animals in captivity, their living conditions, and taking orcas away from their families.

The enclosures provided for orca’s are not nearly close to what they need to be physically what they need. The average orca is 23-32 feet long; the enclosures provided are up to 50 feet deep not allowing the orca to even swim double their body length down. Orcas can swim up to 100 miles a day in the wild, where as in captivity they have up to a 180-foot by 90-foot length enclosure. The orca would have to swim back and forth about 30 times to mimic what they would do in the wild.

In this experiment, our objectives were to observe and analyze the metabolic rate of Orconectes rusticus crayfish by measuring the rate at which dissolved oxygen in the water was consumed. Furthermore, we looked to explore the relationship that body size had on the metabolic rate of the organism. We hypothesized that the metabolism of the crayfish would increase as the body length of the organism increased.

With the addition of cichlid A it would have good eye sight which would allow it to see the particularly bright spotted guppies. These bright spotted guppies would then be eaten and only the less bright guppies would survive to reproduce creating a population of less bright spots. The cichlid B would have eyesight level somewhere in-between the other two predators. With the presence of cichlid B there was a low population of guppies with bright spots and a low population of guppies with dull spots. Therefore the guppies with the brightest spots would be eaten while the guppies will in-betweens spots were able to reproduce while guppies with dull spots did not get the chance to reproduce.

Unfortunately, the total population of the Cagle’s Map Turtle decreased by ⅔ since 1974 in 1997 and is only continuing to decrease due to major disturbances in habitat, including water diversions, degradation, and being subjected to living only along the Guadalupe River Basin(Ernst, C.H., et al., 1997). Since the Cagle’s Map Turtle only survive in freshwater environments, their population decreases in increased levels of salinity caused by the water

Firstly, the local people of Uganda are trying to over fish in this particular species, and that too mostly the females. This is because the females give birth to the off springs, and if they are all gone, there will be no more off springs, lowering the amount of fish.

Leopard geckos need a tank with about 15-20 gallons to themselves. There should only be one gecko in a tank at a time. They are nocturnal animals so a hiding space is great for them. Half logs or fake caves are options for climbing, hiding and sleeping. A damp plastic container with a hole in the lid filled with damp soil or moss provides a good place for geckos to shed. The bottom of the cage can have paper, slate rocks with calcium sand, carpet or even paper towels.

Substrate is not essential for axolotls, but it does create a more aesthetic environment and provides surface area for beneficial bacteria. It has been noted, however, that in some plastic or plexiglass tanks, bacterial scum can accumulate on the bottom and cause sores to form on the axolotls’ feet. Sores have also been reported in some individuals kept in bare glass tanks, although the primary problem with this set-up is the axolotls’ inability to grip the surface, which causes them stress (Clare, 2012). To reduce stress on the animals, it is recommended that substrate be used, but care must be taken when choosing as axolotls will ingest gravel and other mouth-sized objects. This ingestion can cause impaction, and even death, so substrates must be very fine or very large. River pebbles larger the axolotls’ head are suitable, but may need to be cleaned more frequently as uneaten food and waste particles collect in the large spaces between pebbles. A more popular option is aquarium-safe sand. If ingested, it will not clog the animal’s digestion system, and it provides a stable surface with a comfortable grip, as well as a growth medium for beneficial bacteria.

However, many fisherman are unable to catch as many fish as they used to, so they are increasingly using cyanide and dynamite in fishing, which further degrades the coral reef ecosystem.[6] This perpetuation of bad habits simply leads to the further decline of coral reefs and therefore perpetuating the problem. One solution to stopping this cycle is to educate the local community about why conservation of marine spaces that include coral reefs is important.[7] Once the local communities understand the personal stakes at risk then they will actually fight to preserve the reefs. Conserving coral reefs has many economic, social, and ecological benefits, not only for the people who live on these islands, but for people throughout the world as well.

“Splish! Splash!” The sound of bottlenose dolphins jumping and swimming around their tank excites a family at SeaWorld as they wait to experience their first encounter with the dolphins. Every year, bottlenose dolphins bring joy to hundreds of people in both captivity and the wild, but what do people truly know about them? Bottlenose dolphins are actually unique and interesting creatures.