The Woodlawn community is lucky to have a fish tank enthusiast, Tim Rys (Rys rhymes with fish) among us. Tim, whose son Charlie is in 4th grade, keeps lots of beautiful fish at home, and is now volunteering his time and expertise to bring some of that fishy magic to school. Tim is working with Ms. Audel, who requested help with the tanks; PTA funds were used to purchase new fish, and Tim donated some of the equipment.
So where can you find our local fish? There are 3 tanks at the school. The first is in the front office, and houses two Comet goldfish named Dame and CJ (can you tell them apart?). This tank recently became home to some fat head minnows as well; these are lighter-pinkish-colored schooling fish that are indigenous to North America.
Another smaller tank in the hallway leading to the library and 1st grade classrooms includes platys, which are live bearers and recently had babies! There are currently lots of babies to spot in the tank. Two ghost shrimp live in this tank as well.
Last is the big community tank, also in the library hallway. It has new live plants called water sprites, as well as a variety of South American and Southeast Asian fish including three-spotted gourami (the larger yellow fish), tetras, rasboras, two plecos, and some snails.
A separate tank houses our salmon eggs, which the 4th graders will be studying and caring for until the juvenile salmon are sent back to the fish hatchery where they came from, and then eventually released into their natural habitat. Look for more information on our salmon program—including our SalmonCam so you can watch from home—in a future blog post!
Many thanks to Tim, Ms. Audel, and all of the other fish enthusiasts at Woodlawn Elementary!