Hello from Upstate NY!

[Conesus_Kid]

Hi there!

My name is Scott, and I'm a 7th grade life science teacher in a town a bit south of Rochester, NY.

I've been fortunate enough to win a Toyota TAPESTRY grant to install a reef aquarium and breeding/propagation system in my classroom.

In addition to fishes and corals, I would also like the kids to attempt to breed some inverts. I'd love to hear any suggestions for some simple species to attempt, some good reading materials, as well as a challenge or two (since I'll have the space and resources).

I'm looking forward to learning as much as possible and sharing our learning experiences!

Scott

[BrianPlankis]

Scott,

Welcome aboard! Congrats on the TAPESTRY grant, those are hard to get! Always good to see more teachers here!

As far as inverts you can go two routes, the easy inverts or more difficult inverts.

The easy inverts should lead to success and students can learn about the organism's life history, life cycle, population growth, etc. One caution with easy inverts is that it is almost all observational work, so it can be boring for students. The two easiest inverts for this are the Columbellid sp. snail and the DIBS Turbo.

The more difficult inverts will require intervention by your students and success is a lot less likely, but still possible with dedication. As far as choices there are quite a few, with the easiest for each major group being:

Peppermint shrimp (There are 7 species of "peppermint shrimp", but the easiest to breed is probably Lysmata wurdemanni but everyone sells all 7 species as that species). I live near Galveston, TX where Lysmata wurdemanni is the only species and I can check around with local hobbyists to see if they have any to spare for your students. Anyway Peppermint shrimp are the easiest shrimp and there is a great book out on how to do it that is affordable!

Look for the April Kirkendoll book on this list:
http://www.thedibsfoundation.org/reading.html

If you order it through The DIBS Foundation Amazon link we get a small percentage to support our operations at no cost to you :thumbsup:

We also have some additional Peppermint shrimp resources in our forums.

For snails the easiest "hard" species is the Trochus sp. snails. There isn't anything written up on the hobbyist Trochus sp., but tons of info on the Trochus niloticus which gives easy to follow procedures. I plan on writing up a hobbyist version soon, depending on when your students will be attempting this. Trochus spp. is one of our breeding challenges and you can find more info here:

http://www.projectdibs.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=95

Two more difficult choices would be the Sexy shrimp Thor amboinensis and Red "Emerald Crabs" Mithraculus forceps.

I would be happy to discuss these options in a little more detail if you like, there are pluses and minuses to each species.

Brian

[Conesus_Kid]

Thanks, Brian. I'm excited about the project, and will definitely be doing some reading before deciding how many tanks to dedicate to inverts.

Timing the way it is, I'll be planning and getting things set up this summer, hoping to get started with livestock in the fall. I'll keep an eye on the boards here and will be asking questions as we get closer to putting things together.

[BrianPlankis]

Thanks, Brian. I'm excited about the project, and will definitely be doing some reading before deciding how many tanks to dedicate to inverts.

Timing the way it is, I'll be planning and getting things set up this summer, hoping to get started with livestock in the fall. I'll keep an eye on the boards here and will be asking questions as we get closer to putting things together.

Yes, feel free to ask questions as they come up, especially on equipment, setup is very important for breeding inverts and buying expensive equipment that can't be used can be painful!

Brian