Free at Last

Over the past few weeks, the alevin have developed into small fry. They have finished feeding on their yolk sacs and have been given starter food. Today, the small fry were allowed to swim over the basket and into the tank. They hurriedly left the confines of their previous home and explored their new environment. Of the original 488 eggs, 215 are currently surviving. As time moves along, we’ll watch the trout grow until they reach about 5.7 cm. They will continue to be fed the food and roam the cool waters of the tank.

Eggs are in!!

On December 7, the Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH) received its first batch of brown trout eggs. The estimated 488 trout eggs resembled translucent pink marbles with eyes. The new additions were approximately two weeks old and loaded into the safety basket inside the tank. Brian Williams of Dan River Basin Association (DRBA) delivered the eggs from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) Hatchery in Wytheville, VA.

Currently, the eggs have hatched and are now referred to as "alevins." Alevins resemble a small tadpole with a bulging yolk sac. They have a tail that allows them to move freely inside the safety basket. In the wild, eggs have a 1% survival rate. In our tanks, along with those in classrooms, the eggs have a 25% survival rate. Streams in the wild contain predators and hazards to developing trout eggs. The tanks provide an environment free of the outside challenges that trout eggs encounter. Also, water quality is monitored and regulated in the tanks, unlike streams in the outdoors. The alevin trout will remain in the safety basket, nourished by the remaining yolk sac. In 2-3 weeks, the alevins will have used up their yolk sac and rise to the top of the safety basket. Eventually, they will swim over the basket and into the expanse of the tank.