Project Introduction:
Our group’s experiment was to see if unnatural decor affects our fishes stress level. After reading about the impact of decor in a fish tank, we wanted to test if there is a difference between unnatural and natural decor. Things we need to be mindful of are, colors, themes, and diversification. The environment can make fish feel vulnerable or exposed based on placement or size of decoration. These are things we needed to keep in mind as we planned to heavily decorate our tank.
Research Question:
How Does Unnatural Decor Affect The Stress Level Of Fish?
Introduction: Our group decided to know if unnatural decor affects our fishes stress level.
Hypothesis: The new decor we were putting in our tank, will stress our fish out, which will cause spikes in nitrogen.
Alternative: Fish will be a lot more interactive and happy with the decor, nitrogen levels will not show that the fish are stressed.
Null: No change will occur, which means our fish will stay neutral, no fast movement, not being stagnant.
The reason we decided to do this experiment was because our group had read a lot of articles talking about how sometimes having unnatural decor in a fish tank can really stress fish out. But we also had read a lot of articles how having unnatural decor isn’t always a bad thing, that it has a positive side and that fish definitely need an awesome decor, as long as the fish likes it of course.
Independent and Dependent Variables
Independent Variable: Our decoration, time measured.
Dependent Variable: Fish stress level, Nitrogen cycle tests.
Controlled Variables: Amount of decor, amount of fish.
Introduction: Our group decided to know if unnatural decor affects our fishes stress level.
Hypothesis: The new decor we were putting in our tank, will stress our fish out, which will cause spikes in nitrogen.
Alternative: Fish will be a lot more interactive and happy with the decor, nitrogen levels will not show that the fish are stressed.
Null: No change will occur, which means our fish will stay neutral, no fast movement, not being stagnant.
The reason we decided to do this experiment was because our group had read a lot of articles talking about how sometimes having unnatural decor in a fish tank can really stress fish out. But we also had read a lot of articles how having unnatural decor isn’t always a bad thing, that it has a positive side and that fish definitely need an awesome decor, as long as the fish likes it of course.
Independent and Dependent Variables
Independent Variable: Our decoration, time measured.
Dependent Variable: Fish stress level, Nitrogen cycle tests.
Controlled Variables: Amount of decor, amount of fish.
Literature Review:
Through our internet research, we concluded that no matter what kind of decoration is being used, it is essential for the well-being of our fish. From one article on pethelpful.com we read about the differences between natural and unnatural decoration. For the most part, there shouldn't be a difference but we need to be mindful about the types of items we are putting into our tank. Things we need to be mindful of are, colors, themes, and diversification (1). On another article from fishtankguide.net, we read about the things that make decoration important. We learned that the environment can make fish feel vulnerable or exposed based on placement or size of decoration (2). This is something we needed to keep in mind as we plan to heavily decorate our tank. After reading about other scientists’ research, we decided to conduct our own experiment to find out if there is a significant difference in stress level depending on the type of decor being used in our tank.
References:
- Matt, Pittsburg Pennsylvania, and King George Virginia Dennis. “Decorating Your Aquarium.” Decorating Your Aquarium - The First Tank Guide - Making Your Aquarium an Attractive Part of Your Home or Office and Making It a Comfortable Place for Your Fish to Live, 19 Jan. 2003, www.firsttankguide.net/decoration.php.
- Landocheese. “How to Pick Decorations for a Fish Tank.” PetHelpful, PetHelpful, 1 Oct. 2016, pethelpful.com/fish-aquariums/How-to-Pick-Decorations-for-a-Fish-Tank.
Methods:
Step One: We collected data about how our interacted with our original natural decor inside our tank.
Step Two: We replaced the original decor with new unnatural decor.
Step three: We collected data about how our fish interacted with our new unnatural decor.
Step Two: We replaced the original decor with new unnatural decor.
Step three: We collected data about how our fish interacted with our new unnatural decor.
Before:
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After:
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Meet our team!
Down below are easier ways to access our pages, click the links below!
Publicist/Principal Investigator: http://findingdoryproject.weebly.com/publicist.html
Graphic Designer: http://findingdoryproject.weebly.com/graphic-designer.html
Materials Engineer: http://findingdoryproject.weebly.com/materials-engineer3.html
Water Quality: http://findingdoryproject.weebly.com/water-quality-analyst3.html
Animal Behaviorist: http://findingdoryproject.weebly.com/animal-behaviorist1.html
Graphic Designer: http://findingdoryproject.weebly.com/graphic-designer.html
Materials Engineer: http://findingdoryproject.weebly.com/materials-engineer3.html
Water Quality: http://findingdoryproject.weebly.com/water-quality-analyst3.html
Animal Behaviorist: http://findingdoryproject.weebly.com/animal-behaviorist1.html