Day#1: Picking Up the Rainbow Trout Eggs from the "Nursery" aka Hatchery

DAY #1 Picking Up the Eggs

On Sunday, January 12th, I woke up at my normal time of 4:00 AM and put on a pot of coffee. A few minutes later the delicious smell of that well-roasted Peruvian bean was wafting through my home. After my first cup I was ready to make the early morning trek up north to the Fillmore Hatchery, west of Santa Clarita about 30 miles.

But, wait -- I am getting ahead of myself  . . .  

On Friday, January 10th, we were making plans to pick up our fish eggs on Monday, January 20th  -- it was the beginning of our ten-day countdown. We had a large event planned for our students that day as we were going to celebrate the arrival of 1200 fish eggs to place and grow in our newly constructed LABitat – our own miniature fish hatchery -- and their new temporary home.

But, even the best-laid plans are sometimes thwarted. Later that Friday we got an emergency phone call telling us the fish were spawning and that we needed to pick up the eggs ASAP before they began to hatch!

Our first lesson in this great new STEM project was that Mother Nature has her own timetable apart from ours, and she wins!

Which takes us back to that early Sunday morning and the smell of fresh brewed coffee. On January 12th, early in the morning we left Temecula Prep for the Filmore Hatchery at 7:00 AM to collect our 1200 rainbow trout eggs from California Fish and Game.

Fortunately – and despite Mother Nature -- we had already received our certificates from the state to transport the eggs. This is a critical piece of the project, no certificates equals no eggs. We were also fortunate because Tom Schmeltzer, the creator the Small Fry to Go STEM project from Georgia, was able to be with us to ensure our eggs were transported well and placed in their new home with care.

Now, driving up and back on the freeways for 2-3 hours each way could have been considered a waste of time, but not to fear. We took a WiFi Hotspot so we could work along the way! And believe it or not, it did help as the trip seem to pass more quickly. But, let’s be real, two-and-a-half hours later it still felt like we that we had FINALLY arrived at the hatchery.

Personally I had wanted to take a side trip to Magic Mountain but I got voted down. It appears not all persons are lovers of great roller-coaster rides.

Anyhow, much to our dismay the hatchery was deserted, or so it seemed. We all got out of the car and proceeded to knock on doors trying to find someone – anyone; all we needed was our eggs!

We discovered that the gate to the actual fish tanks was open, so naturally, we decided to check inside. There were several long rectangular tanks about five feet wide and 30 feet long. End to end they were longer than a football field. Each was sectioned off from the other and as we peered over the edges we realized that the fish in each section were becoming smaller and smaller. We started with full sized rainbow trout, and we ended with “frys” which are smaller than minnows.

Why were they all sectioned off? Tom – the fish guy from Georgia -- explained that rainbow trout are carnivores and the larger will eat the smaller so they have to remain in tanks with fish of their own size. If the fish are of equal size they won’t prey upon one another. Good information to know when you are building your own miniature hatchery.

As we walked by each section the water seemed to churn as we spoke. Tom explained that the lateral lines of the fish sense sound waves so they don’t “hear” voices they “feel” them.  “Lucky them,” I said, “I have to ‘hear’ them and ‘feel’ them.”

After walking down the line of tanks we finally found our contact with Fish and Game. He welcomed us into an old factory building filled large vats of water and fish eggs and then showed us our eggs. They were salmon colored and about a quarter of an inch round, and very delicate. Each had two very tiny black dots -- their eyes. As the Fish and Game guy scooped them out and placed them into our container it dawned on me that I was being watched by 2400 eyes – and although they were barely visible I had to wonder if they were glaring at me.

Once we had our eggs it was time to return back to the school. We placed ice in the water with the eggs to keep the temperature below 60 degrees as anything above will endanger them. This explains why there is not a lot of Rainbow trout in Palm Springs. A warmer water temperature also leads to faster hatching and we were hoping that the fish would wait to hatch until classes resumed on Monday.

We pulled out the computers and hotspot and got back to work but we did stop to check on the eggs along the way. Some of the more self-centered eggs had indeed started to hatch, but the majority of the fish were being thoughtful enough to stay in their shell so they could hatch in front of the students.

We – eggs included – all arrived back to Temecula Prep in one piece.  We gently unloaded the precious cargo and walked it back to the LABitat, gingerly placing the eggs in their new home.

As I watched the eggs settle into the roller I reflected back on that first day I had seen this project in Atlanta. It was exciting to see it all coming to fruition. But, even more exciting than that was going to be the next day, Monday, when the students were going to be able to see the eggs and begin the journey with them from hatching to release!

Tomorrow – introducing the students to the new guests on campus . . .

Scott Phillips, J.D.

CEO & Headmaster

HCCS / TPS