Effects of temperature on the growth of goldfish (Carassius auratus).

Jerry Lee AllenUndergraduate Student (Biology Health Science Concentration)Department of Biology, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN 38505

Project Summary • Objective Statement: Different factors control how much a goldfish can grow,

and habitat temperature may be one of these factors.

• I will have two tanks in my experiment.

• In one tank I will have 5 fish in water which is about 6 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the control tank.

• In the control tank I will have 5 fish in water which is at room temperature (70 Fahrenheit).

• I will keep the rest of the variables as close as to the same as I can.

• I will periodically measure the fish and possibly weight them to find the difference in their growth.

• Over the time period of the rest of the semester I will check them at least once a week or maybe more.

Introduction

• Temperature (within the range of 20-28oC) and body size influenced growth performance with the highest specific growth rates being obtained at 28oC (Kestemont 1995).

• Kestemont, P. 1995. Influence of feed supply, temperature and body size on the growth of goldfish Carassius auratus larvae. Aquaculture 136:341-349.

Hypothesis and Null Hypothesis Statement

• Objective Statement: Different factors control how much a goldfish can grow, and habitat temperature may be one of these factors.

• Hypothesis Statement: Certain species of fish in the ocean vary in size in accordance to the temperature of their habitat, and goldfish may have this same trait.

• Null Hypothesis: Temperature does not play a vital role in the growth in goldfish.

Materials • Materials: Two tanks of the same size, ten

fish and possibly a few extra, water, fish food, a ruler, a heater for the water, a thermometer, and possibly a digital scale.

• I will measure the fish in each tank with a cm or mm ruler at least once a week or more, and if I can find a good balance or electronic scale then I will weigh them then too.

• I will add together the lengths and weights of all the fish in each tank and compare them.

Methods• I will use a standard t-test to find out if my

null hypothesis is true or false.

• I will then use the data that I accumulated to rectify or nullify my original hypothesis.

• Data Form

)/1()/1[(

)()(

212

2121

nns

XXt

p

calc

Expected Results

I expect the goldfish living in the warmer water to have a little more growth than the ones living in the room temperature water.

• If goldfish growth is affected by temperature, then other more marketable fish may also have this trait.

Timeline

• Timeline Link

Twelve-Month Budget • Budget Link

The End