Teens Set Baby Fish Free

One morning this past May, 14-year-old Glorian Blackbear stepped up to the water’s edge at the Washakie Reservoir in Wyoming’s Wind River Reservation. He held a cup containing a wriggling young rainbow trout about the size of his pinkie finger. After nearly half a year of raising trout in his science class, the time had come for Glorian and his fellow students to set their little fish free. With a mixture of excitement and sadness, Glorian tipped his cup and watched the young trout swim away.

One morning last May, 14-year-old Glorian Blackbear stood by the Washakie Reservoir in Wyoming’s Wind River Reservation. He stepped up to the water’s edge with a cup in his hand. A young rainbow trout wiggled inside. The fish was about the size of his pinkie finger. For nearly half a year, Glorian and his fellow students had raised trout in their science class. Now it was time to set their little fish free. Glorian felt both excited and sad as he tipped his cup. He watched the young trout swim away.

Each year around November, teachers and students who’ve signed up to raise trout set up freshwater fish tanks in their classrooms. The tanks include a chiller to keep the water at a suitable temperature and a filter system to keep it clean. Each tank is a miniature ecosystem—a community of living things interacting with their environment, says Mike Duffy. He’s a science teacher at Wyoming Indian High School whose students have raised trout for the past two years.

Classes need to maintain a careful balance of conditions in the tanks for their fish to thrive. That includes establishing essential communities of bacteria to help process nitrogen waste that the trout produce. Fish breathe underwater through their gills. These organs also release the compound ammonia (NH₃). A fish’s urinary system, which removes waste from the blood, releases ammonia too. And ammonia is created when uneaten food breaks down as well.

Each year, teachers and students sign up to raise trout. Around November, they set up freshwater fish tanks in their classrooms. The tanks include a chiller to keep the water at the right temperature. A filter system keeps the water clean. Each tank is a miniature ecosystem, or a community of living things and their environment, says Mike Duffy. He’s a science teacher at Wyoming Indian High School. His students have raised trout for the past two years.

Classes want their fish to thrive. So they must maintain a careful balance of conditions in the tanks. That includes creating communities of important bacteria. The trout produce nitrogen waste, and the bacteria help process it. Fish breathe underwater through their gills. These organs also release the compound ammonia (NH₃). A fish’s urinary system removes waste from the blood. It releases ammonia too. And uneaten food breaks down and creates ammonia.

Ammonia is toxic to fish, so preventing its buildup is critical. To manage this, Duffy’s classes introduced two types of beneficial bacteria into their tanks. One converts ammonia to a different compound, nitrite (NO₂). Another converts this nitrite to nitrate (NO₃), a compound that’s less harmful to fish (see “Tank Chemistry”).

In Duffy’s class, students closely monitored conditions inside their tank. “We checked pH [a measure of acidity], temperature, and water chemistry,” says Duffy. After ammonia and nitrite levels were safe, the tanks were ready for their new residents.

Ammonia is toxic to fish, so Duffy’s class had to prevent its buildup. To do this, they put two types of beneficial bacteria in their tanks. One converts ammonia to a different compound, nitrite (NO₂). Another converts this nitrite to nitrate (NO₃). Nitrate is less harmful to fish (see “Tank Chemistry”).

In Duffy’s class, students closely tracked conditions inside their tank. “We checked pH [a measure of acidity], temperature, and water chemistry,” says Duffy. When ammonia and nitrite levels were safe, the tanks were ready for their new residents.

Glorian remembers the day students walked in to find their class’s tank filled with 150 rainbow trout eggs: “They were small and reddish, and you could see the baby fish embryo inside,” he says. A mesh basket in the tank held the eggs over a bubbler, which supplied oxygen and kept them in motion, like the jostling they might experience in a river. “We waited for them to hatch—first one, and then others, and we raised them and collected data,” says Glorian (see “Trout Life Cycle”).

Glorian and his classmates continued to monitor the tank’s water chemistry. They took water samples and added substances that react with various compounds that were present. This revealed the amounts of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in the water. “You’d put each sample in a vial, shake it up, and let it rest,” explains Glorian. “It changed color, and you’d compare that against a chart to mark the level.” If nitrate levels got too high, the class knew it was time to replace some of the tank’s water. Any increase in ammonia or nitrite levels alerted them to serious issues that needed attention.

Glorian remembers one day well. Students walked in to find 150 rainbow trout eggs in their class’s tank. “They were small and reddish, and you could see the baby fish embryo inside,” he says. A mesh basket in the tank held the eggs over a bubbler. It supplied oxygen. The bubbler also kept the eggs moving, like they would in a river. “We waited for them to hatch—first one, and then others, and we raised them and collected data,” says Glorian (see “Trout Life Cycle”).

Glorian and his classmates continued to check the tank’s water chemistry. They took water samples. Then they added substances that react with different compounds in the water. This revealed the amounts of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in the water. “You’d put each sample in a vial, shake it up, and let it rest,” explains Glorian. “It changed color, and you’d compare that against a chart to mark the level.” If nitrate levels got too high, it was time to replace some of the tank’s water. The class watched for any increase in ammonia or nitrite levels. That meant serious issues needed attention.

As the baby trout grew, the students learned to identify some distinctive individual fish. Glorian named his class’s largest one Geronimo, after the well-known Apache Native American leader and healer.

In May, the classes packed their trout into coolers with portable bubblers. More than 75 students and teachers gathered at the reservoir. Redman burned a small bundle of cedar leaves and said a brief blessing for the young trout, wishing them well and hoping that their release would benefit the ecosystem. He invited students to gently waft a bit of the cedar smoke toward themselves if they wished. “For many Native Americans, cedar is a way of cleansing and preparing for what you’re about to do,” explains Glorian.

The baby trout grew, and the students learned to tell some of them apart. Glorian named his class’s largest one Geronimo, after the well-known Apache Native American leader and healer.

In May, the classes packed their trout into coolers with portable bubblers. More than 75 students and teachers gathered at the reservoir. Redman burned a small bundle of cedar leaves. He said a brief blessing for the young trout. In it, he wished them well and hoped that their release would benefit the ecosystem. He invited students to gently wave a bit of the cedar smoke toward themselves if they wished. “For many Native Americans, cedar is a way of cleansing and preparing for what you’re about to do,” explains Glorian.

Then the students from all of the assembled schools released a total of about a thousand little trout into the water. Glorian, who enjoys fishing at the reservoir, got to release his favorite, Geronimo. “It was exciting, releasing that fish that day,” he says. “But it took a while to take it all in. It’s crazy to know that we put new life into that ecosystem,” he reflects. “Who knows—maybe in a few years we’ll go fishing there, and I might catch that same fish.”   

Then the students from all of the gathered schools released their fish. About a thousand little trout swam off into the water. Glorian enjoys fishing at the reservoir. He got to release his favorite fish, Geronimo. “It was exciting, releasing that fish that day,” he says. “But it took a while to take it all in. It’s crazy to know that we put new life into that ecosystem,” he reflects. “Who knows—maybe in a few years we’ll go fishing there, and I might catch that same fish.”