Two hundred fingerling brown trout [baby fish] are thriving in the library.
Jason Ince, fisheries and wildlife management teacher, supervises the growing fish as a project for his class.
Librarian Deborah Maxey enjoys having them in the library.
“I like them in here,” Mrs. Maxey said. “Everyone is excited about seeing the fish when they come in.”
The fisheries and wildlife class received a grant from the Dan River Basin Association for the program called “Trout in the Classroom.”
The fish eggs came from a hatchery a week after Thanksgiving and hatched into the library’s large fish tank.
The Dan River Basin Association provides the class and Mrs. Maxey with a book containing instructions on how to care for the fish.
Proper care for the fish includes food and water requirements that provide for a good quality environment for growth.
The water in the tank is kept the same as the water temperature of the Smith River so that the small fish will acclimate quickly to their new surroundings.
The fish will be released into the Smith River in Henry County around the end of April or the beginning of May. Students in the fisheries and wildlife class will go to the release.
“When they leave here, they will be about the size of your finger,”said Mrs. Maxey.
Mrs. Maxey loves when students come in to look at them and talk about them.
