The residents of our seawater tank include a dozen clownfish, an orchid goby, a pajama cardinal, a couple of watchman gobies, a firefish goby, and Phyllis, a coral beauty angelfish named for her donor. One of the biggest tank personalities is an outgoing cleaner shrimp who prances around eating floating bits of food and shaking her swimmerets. Snails inch around on the glass, leaving a trail of eggs that we like to call “snail graffiti.” Finally, the coral fragments donated by our local Sea Grant agent are growing like weeds.

CSN established the Tank Team shortly after the aquarium arrived in December. Students, parents, and teachers from all three divisions have helped care for the ecosystem before and after school. During the summer and the 2022-23 school year, the Tank Team will have more opportunities to work on water chemistry, water changes, feeding, and maintenance during the day so as not to interfere with extracurricular activities. Families interested in helping during the summer can attend gatherings every Tuesday 10:00-11:30 a.m. (excluding May 30 and July 19) in the ISER.  We will do everything from “cleaning socks” and scraping the walls, to removing pesky manta shrimp and dosing chemicals. If you are interested in getting on an email list for participation in the Tank Team summer crew and/or for the upcoming school year, please email jstevens@communityschoolnaples.org or mcarperntier@communityschoolnaples.org. In the meantime, stop by and meet our underwater friends!