Messiness Level:
MediumAge Level:
5+Materials Needed:
2 liter soda bottle, Aquarium rocks, Water, fish, 2 coffee filters, String, Plant, SoilSubjects/Skills Used:
Fine Motor, ScienceEstimated Time:
30-45 minutesHow do the different parts of an ecosystem work together? Find out with this activity from Layers of Learning. Get the instructions here.
Please Note: We were offered feedback that for the health of the fish you should make sure the plants and soil used are unfertilized.
I just did this with some of my students… I have had fish before and have had no problems keeping them alive. Our fish arrived a few days early so I had to keep them alive longer. The first day in the ecosystem they were doing fine… this morning 3 of the 4 fish are swimming on their sides… it is next to impossible to open it up without doing damage and stressing the fish oit more… their water is clean… we had even put a few drops of water purifier into it when we made them. I have come to believe that the reason is because the plants would have had fertlizer given to them at the store.. the fourth one didn’t have a plant yet. I am going to have some very disappointed students… it was something I didn’t think about since I was following the outline.
We’re so sorry that happened. Thank you for sharing with us. We’ll update the activity to suggest using plants that haven’t been fertilized so that hopefully other people who try the activity will end up with different results.
The problem isn’t necessarily fertilizer. The problem is most likely the fact that goldfish are NOT low maintenance fish. Goldfish produce tons of organic waste, and terrestrial plants don’t absorb enough nitrogen to keep your nitrogen cycle in check. Do a bit more research on fish care and nitrogen cycling in domestic aquatic environments before attempting this. It’s better to use snails or “sea monkeys” in this case.
Could we use a beta?
Hi Micky,
I would check with Layers of Learning to see if they have any insight into this.
Thanks!
This is soo true! I can’t believe stuff like this is still circulating! The post mentions goldfish having a high mortality rate, this is because people think they can just shove them in a tiny tank (or a soda bottle!) and they’ll be fine. The truth is, if kept in the proper conditions, goldfish should live 20 years. Goldfish do NOT make good pets!
This is incredibly cruel. Goldfish are amazing, friendly, fish, and if kept properly they can live over 20 years. But the proper condition is a 100l acquarium with adequate filtration.
No! Despite the information people think is correct, Betta fish are insectavors (will not eat plants) that need AT LEAST a 2 gallon habitat. They also breath from the air only, and that is going to be limited in that set up. Also, goldfish need a large amount of water, they are one of the “dirtiest ” fish out there. This entire experiment is cruel and uneducated. (Former aquatics rep and Vet Tech)
Totally agree with you. Poor fish.
fish swimming on their sides means they have swim bladders disease caused by a too drastic change in temperature when transferring the fish. Fish in bags must be put in the water they will live in for up to an hour to adjust. I agree, don’t put fish in this experiment. It is cruel. Thanks.
Thank you so much for your input on this. By no means do we want to promote the harming of any living creature. This ecosystem might not be the best environment for living fish.