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Nature Study Galore at our house this week
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On Sunday, dd8 caught a blue-tailed skink in the house. now resides in terrarium #1.
That night dd11 caught an adorable green tree frog on the outside of the kitchen door right before bed. After Flip Flop spent one night in a plastic cup inside the butterfly pavillion, we found terrarium #2 and set up suitable housing for him or is it her?
A few days ago, we set up the 20 gallon aquarium daddy bought and were looking forward to getting fish for it. Yesterday, we went to the pet store to look. We left with 2 dozen small crickets to feed the frog and the skink. The crickets now live in the bug viewer cage because we cannot locate our cricket cage at the moment. DD5 has a habit of making off with the critter holders for making stews of berries, leaves, water and whatever else she can find. Back to the fish search. We learned that we can have ~ 1″ of fish for each gallon of water, but that we shouldn”t overload the aquarium from the beginning. We also learned that many first fish die.
DD11 chose a Dalmation Molly. DS2 chose a Black Molly. DS8 chose a Panda Platy. DD5 chose a Red Velvet Swordtail. The fish guy at the pet shop gave us instructions to choose similar sized fish and similar temperment fish. So we did. This morning the kids woke me to say there were 3 baby fish in the tank. I doubted them, thinking it was a floating fish flake or something. Once I checked, yep, we have at least 3 baby fry. The Mollies try to eat them when they swim up so they stay down near the gravel. We’ve since learned that we bought ALL LIVEBEARERS! We’re reading and learning about fish today. I know all adult fish will eat babies, but we’ve lots of silk plants in there and if any of those babies are going to make it, they will have to hide. I’m not about to start fishing baby fry out and becoming consumed with protecting them. This is one time when it will have to truly be survival of the fittest!
It’s been an interesting few days!
Christie
Oh boy! Baby fishes…sounds like a real adventure. Isn’t it interesting that we think we will do one little thing with nature study and it seems to take on a life of its own? =)
You’re so right, Sheraz!
We’ve just learned how to sex the fish. All are males except for the Red Velvet Swordtail. We’re going to just let it go for now, but I don’t know what we’ll do if we keep having a brood of fry each month or so.
I posted in another thread about our impromptu nature study of predatory behavior!
Two of my DC ran inside yeterday after I had sent them out for a mid-morning, 15-minute recess outside. They said, “Dori (she is our calico cat) has a lizard half eaten!” My 10YO DS, who I aptly call the “Critter Whisperer”, ran outside with me. He was not outside yet. I find Dori crouched watching the helpless skink (which is a type of lizard; for some reason I thought it was not a lizard). Anyway, she had already eaten it up to its hind legs, and the helpless critter had hidden itself under one of my van tires to the point she couldn’t get to it momentarily.
My 10YO DS asked me if he could fish it out and I let him, because honestly the little skink was bleeding and I figured it would be best to let nature take its course quicker than not. After DS fished it out, Dori pounced on it and promptly relocated to the grass beside our driveway and finished it off, HEAD and all. Some of our DC watched the entire ordeal. I just couldn’t.
I was able to explain predatory behavior and instinct to our 7YO DS and 6YO DD. They were fascinated by the entire encounter.
Incidentally, I was researching last night on-line and discovered that house cats are the biggest predator of lizards. I love this site btw, though it is not the state in which we live. But their Field Guides are wonderful!
http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/little-brown-skink (here is the site specific to the skink, which is what our Dori had for an mid-morning snack yeterdsay).
@missceegee, we had a toad in our critter carrier for a few weeks. We released it about a week ago. He was happy to go I think. We haven’t done as well with fish. I think our problem is we don’t clean the tank enough. POOR FISH.
That is so exciting you are having baby fishes!!!
I learned the hard way once about the habits of adult fish and their young. 🙁 @Christie, I love the imagery of a beautiful fish tank in the learning area..I often see large aquariums at a good price at thrift stores or sales..my problem is knowing how to keep them CLEAN! Seems I spend so much time cleaning them that I can’t properly enjoy them. Any secrets?!
For a fish tank – Don’t overfeed them – and maybe an algae eater. I only feed ours once a day and rarely have to clean the tank. Don’t put it in the sunshine and run a filter to help strain out the gross stuff. 😉
I kept hearing this sound in the basement for a few days. When I would rattle around it would stop. I thought it was a cricket or something. Nope, it’s a toad living behind my washing machine near the sump pump. I can’t get it. It jumps away and hides. Not a clue how it got in, and it isn’t the first one.
Today a hummingbird flew up behind my daughter and hovered right behind her for a minute. It was maybe a foot from her bright pink shirt! It was so neat.
My kids keep catching a mole and they are convinced he is the same one and they have named him Larry.
I love nature study 🙂 well, the toad will be relocated once I catch him though! We keep the critters outside and usually only for a day or two and then release. I would like a fish tank too but I hate cleaning them also.
Tara
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