Cocos Islands School Students' Tropical Marine Aquarium

Have you ever experienced snorkelling along a beautiful tropical coral reef? Admiring the brightly coloured corals, seeking the vibrant shoals of Marine Aquarium fish and watching anemones swaying in the current. Blue star fish, sea urchins, shrimp, colourful sea snails and blue clams all going about their business.

Imagine a piece of this maritime paradise in your living room. Setting up a salt water aquarium full of Aquarium fish is not difficult at all. A saltwater reef aquarium would captivate your visitors and children.

As a school teacher living and working on a tropical island I wanted to share with my students my love of Marine Aquarium fish. I bought a complete salt water aquarium kit and had it imported to the remote island. My students learnt how to set the Marine Aquarium up. They developed an understanding of water quality, chemical imbalances, salt water fish diets, temperature and aquarium lighting needs and aquarium fish compatibility. Aquarium saltwater was collected by bucket from the lagoon across from the school oval and living reef rocks from the sea shore were carefully selected to decorate the reef aquarium. Patience was needed by the students, while the large biological filter established itself before any exotic aquarium fish could be introduced. My students used this time to research the many different varieties of saltwater aquarium fish. They had to decide which reef fish would survive in their fish tank.

Finally the day came to catch the aquarium fish. They all had a crash course on snorkelling, then armed with fish nets we hunted down the mysterious salt water fish. It took great skill and teamwork. Brightly coloured damsel fish, green chromis fish, butterfly fish, humbug damsel fish and cleaner wrasse splashed into our buckets and were rushed off to our stunning sea aquarium. The students were delighted with their catch!

I didn’t take long before our Marine fish became very tame and content. We lost very few fish to illness. We monitored the tank's nitate levels and kept up with regular water changes. We returned to the lagoon once a week to seek a new coral or exchange a fish or sea creature for our reef aquarium. Over time our marine aquariums sported a juvenile eel, juvenile zebra lion fish, an endemic Cocos Islands pigmy angel fish, blue clams, fire gobies, golden headed slipper gobies and exotic banded cleaner shrimp.

My students learnt an immense amount about the marine ecosystem on the Cocos Islands and now they all have an appreciation for Marine Aquarium fish. The Cocos Islands School students' tropical marine aquarium was a huge success!

A Marine Aquarium fish tank is not difficult to set up and maintain. If a group of eleven year olds can do it, so can you! Happy fish keeping!