Emerick Elementary September 25, 2013 Share September 25, 2013 Hello WAMAS, I’d like to introduce you to the latest school tank at Emerick Elementary School in Purcellville. This tank used to be at Cedar Lane Elementary in Ashburn, but was moved to Purcellville after crash brought about by a hole in the heater and power outage at the school. A new librarian, new principal, and new aides at the school also brought about the need for a change. Mrs. McKracken, the 3rd grade science teacher at Emerick has eagarly taken over the tank. (plus this tank is now < 1mile from the guy maintaining it!) Tank Specs: 65 gallon 36x18x24 2x 24” T5 lights (looking to upgrade to LED) Chambered sump and DIY ATO 1-2” aragonite sand bottton Mag 9 return through a (broken) sea swirl Mag Jet 1200 with prop for intank circulation Shockbuster GFCI Inhabitants: Foxface 2x Yellow tailed damsels hippo tang (coming) green chromis (coming) royal gramma (coming) Inverts: Borneman rock anemone Chocolate chip starfish Brittle star Turbo snails tuxedo urchin (coming) 2 AIPTASIA! (soon leaving!) Coral: yellow parazooanthid polyps GSP - by ReefeScapes Green mushrooms purple mushrooms Green Palys (on island rock! ) - by Fins ans Feathers gorgonian The tank had 2x150W MH lights at the other school but due to heating concerns and the recurring costs of MH lights, I am trying to go in a different direction. Live rock from the previous tank was almost entirely dried to rid mojano anemones that had taken over the tank. Since most of the corals died in the crash, I have reseeded the tank with a mix of live rock and the previous dry rock. A bacteria starter kit was used. The tank also needed a replacement center brace during its time in drydock. I will continue to update this initial thread with tank updates, but please take the time to answer Mrs McKracken's students questions as they come up. Doug Arthur How can we tell if the sea star is boy or girl? Are there any poisonous sea stars? How long can a sea star and anemones live? If a sea star does not have a brain, how does it move? How does a sea star eat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fry_school101 September 27, 2013 Share September 27, 2013 Unfortunately, you'd have to dissect the starfish to tell if it is a boy or girl. They don't like that much. Yes. There are many species of starfish that are poisonous and even deadly to humans. The crown of thorns, the sun star, the spiny sun star and the leather star are some of them. Their spines are the poisonous parts. A sea star's lifespan ranges from 5-35 years. An anemone is a member of a group of animals called Cnidaria. These animals live a verrry long time. They don't have physical markers like rings on a tree so it can be hard to tell. Some people think they can go on living forever if nothing comes along to eat them. Although starfish do not have many well-defined sense organs, they are sensitive to touch, light, temperature, orientation and the status of the water around them. The tube feet, especially those at the tips of the rays, are also sensitive to chemicals, enabling the starfish to detect odour sources such as food. There are eyespots at the ends of the arms. While a starfish lacks a centralized brain, it has a complex nervous system running along each arm. The starfish does not have the capacity to plan its actions. If one arm detects an attractive odour, it becomes dominant and temporarily over-rides the other arms to initiate movement towards the prey. The mechanism for this is not fully understood. A sea star pulls food to teh center of it's body where it's mouth is. Here is an interesting video of one eating: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A100m5EpfFI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerick Elementary October 8, 2013 Author Share October 8, 2013 Our curious third graders are wondering... How far can an anemone stretch? Do the damsel fish live in a tropical coral reef? What does a serpent star eat? Why does the serpent star like to hide? What is the length of the largest serpent star? How big can a yellow fox face get? How many different colors and types of serpent stars can we find? Are fish color blind? Are serpent stars rare? Does as yellow fox face only live in salt water? How long does serpent star live? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerick Elementary October 16, 2013 Author Share October 16, 2013 Help!!! Our sea star has lost a leg. Are there any fish in our tank that may be aggressive. Is a searpent star capable of this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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