Classroom Fish Tank

somethingsfishy

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I'm looking for help/ideas for a fish tank set up for my classroom. Which size, fish, etc should I put in it?

TIA

tophat665

In my wife's class, I set up a 33 Flat back Hex with a Clown Pleco, 10 Pygmy Cories, 15 Neons, and a male and two female Red Wag Platies. I wen't with fish from Spanish Speaking countries because it's a Spanish Class.

What kind of Class do you have? How much space would you want to give up to a tank? Does the heat/AC stay on all winter/summer? If not, what's the most extreme ambient temperatures you would get in your room? Do you have a room that you'll be keeping a while, or do you get moved every year or two?

Ideally you want a tank with fish that will live nicely on prepared foods, that's big enough to be interesting at a distance, but small enough to move without heroic efforts. Also, the bigger the tank, the easier it will be to keep the temperature and water parameters more or less stable.

Another thing, how far are you from a sink, and is it a sink that you can turn on and leave on, or one of the ones you have to hit a button to get 2 minutes of water flow?

All things you need to consider.

And how much would you want to spend? You can probably get a lot by way of donations or craigslist, but still, some things are going to cost.

Jessica

In my 6th grade class, we had neon tetras.

bettababy

tophat, I think you've covered every question I could have thought to have asked in prep. Well done!
I've been helping teachers set up or fix aquariums in classrooms for years. The typical potential problems are fish outgrowing tanks, too hot or too cold, and lack of access to water supply to do water changes.
May I make a suggestion that might be a little easier for you? Have you considered an amphibian habitat instead of fully aquatic? The care is much easier, less demanding, the animals just as interesting... the only catch would be food supply. I had a lot of teachers who made the transition to amphibian habitats, the sacrafice being the weekly trip to the LFS for crickets, and all seemed to think it a fair trade.
My daughter is currently in the 6th grade, and when her friends come to the house, they like the fish, but are all instantly drawn to the salamander set up next to the fireplace. When I am done posting here I will go get a few pics of it and bring them back right away for you. My daughter can now name not only every common species of fish, but all of the plants in my salamander tank too. It's double the education! The filtration is easy, it's completely biological, sustains itself. Once/month I clean snail shells from the intake on the filter to keep the waterfall running, and when the water level drops I simply fill it up. I dump a dozen crickets in once/wk, and walk away. The light is on a timer. It doesn't get much easier.
Just something to think about, I'll be back with pictures in a few!

bettababy

Ok, the pictures aren't the best because I did it in a hurry and the lighting in the room isn't made for this yet... but its enough to give you the idea. One of the pics is a close up of the waterfall so you can see the water running. The other thing I might note, the sound of the water is rather soothing. I notice that even with my daughter who is quite hyper, sitting in this room for a while seems to calm her down. If it works with her, it might work with other kids. The sound is slight, so it doesn't interfere with tv or conversations. You can adjust sound by how fast the water trickles and how far the water has to drop between layers.
Anyone wanting help in setting up something like this, let me know, it's pretty easy to do. and not overly expensive...

bettababy

Ok, the pictures aren't the best because I did it in a hurry and the lighting in the room isn't made for this yet... but its enough to give you the idea. One of the pics is a close up of the waterfall so you can see the water running. The other thing I might note, the sound of the water is rather soothing. I notice that even with my daughter who is quite hyper, sitting in this room for a while seems to calm her down. If it works with her, it might work with other kids. The sound is slight, so it doesn't interfere with tv or conversations. You can adjust sound by how fast the water trickles and how far the water has to drop between layers.
Anyone wanting help in setting up something like this, let me know, it's pretty easy to do. and not overly expensive...

tophat665

Welcome back, Dawn. Long time no see. Thanks for the compliment. That's a lovely salamander in a lovely tank.

bettababy

Thanks tophat.... its good to be back!