Name:

Educator Name: Mr. JORGE ARIAS

Course & Period:
Date:
Double click here to enter your information
You can also print and fill it out in by hand.

Closed Bottle Ecosystem

Project Objective: To put together a suitable habitat (ecosystem) that will allow one or two guppies to
survive to the end of the school year and beyond. You will be making observations of your ecosystem for
the next three weeks and recording data to be used in your write up for this lab. The ecosystem in this
experiment will be closed, meaning that once you set up your ecosystem, the bottle cap will remain on for
the remainder of the experiment. In other words you will not take off the cap to add any food, water, etc.

PART I- Pre Lab Discussion

Facts to Consider in Planning Your Ecosystem
1. Fish
a. Need H2O with dissolved O2 (5-10 ppm)
b. Need H2O without chlorine (found in tap
water)
c. Need H2O with living bacteria
(decomposers) to break down wastes
such as ammonia into nutrients so
that they can be recycled and be used
by the plants.
d. For every inch of fish you need
about 2-4 liters of water. If fish
are too crowded they may feel
stressed, use the O2 up too fast,
or may produce more waste
than the bacteria can take care
of.
e. Guppies are herbivores
(primary consumers). They can
eat plants and algae that grow
on the sides of aquariums.
f. Guppies should do fine at room temperature
the next few months. However, if
the H2O gets too hot, the dissolved O2 will
decrease and the guppies may suffocate.
g. Adult male guppies are much
more colorful than female
guppies. It is difficult to
determine the sex of baby
guppies.
h. Guppies reproduce sexually and give birth to
live young in a well-maintained aquarium.

Where does the O2 that the fish needs come from?

Type:
Name:
Educator Name: Mr. JORGE ARIAS
Course & Period:
Date:
Double click here to enter your information
You can also print and fill it out in by hand.

Do you think you should leave an air space at the top of you bottle or fill it with
water to the top? Type:

2. Plants
a. Need a source of CO2, H2O and sunlight to carry out photosynthesis.
b. Water plants can grow free-floating in water. However, if you provide
a substrate (pebbles, rocks, sand or soil) they will root and become
more productive plants. Algae (protists that carry out photosynthesis)
also benefit by having something to grow on.
c. We will use a number of different types of water plants. One of the common
water plants we will use is called anacharis and elodea.
Where does the CO2 that the plant needs to do photosynthesis come from? Type:

(Don’t forget that all organisms that carry out cellular metabolism produce CO2 as a waste product!)

3. Bacteria
a. Bacteria are decomposers and will break down the wastes and return nutrients to your
ecosystem so that it can be used again.
b. In this closed ecosystem you will not be able to use filters and pumps used in aquariums to
keep the water clean. Bacteria and other decomposers have a special importance in your
closed bottle ecosystem.

4. Abiotic Factors in your ecosystem

a. Substrate- sides of your 2 liter bottle, pebbles, rocks, gravel etc.
b. Sunlight is a critical factor for the plants and algae. Where should you locate your ecosystem so
that it gets enough sunlight for the plants but not two much that it makes the water too warm for
the fish to survive? Type:

c. Do all of the windows in the classroom receive the same amount of sunlight each day? Type:

(Hint: sunrises in the East and sets in the West)

d. What is the definition of an abiotic factor? An Abiotic Factor is Type:

PART II
Resources You Can Use in Building Your Ecosystem

Check off the items you want to use before you go to PART III.

Tap Water (has chlorine) Snails

Type 1 Pond Water Fish
Type 2 Pond Water (algae) Gravel
Algae pH paper
Elodea Fertilizer
Granules
Duck Weed Sunlight
Water with Decomposers Salt
 PART III
Putting Your Ecosystem Together and Collecting Data

Date you added the fish to your ecosystem: 2022. This will be day 1 of your experiment.
Take a few measurements at the beginning so that you will be able to determine if organisms are growing.

Estimated length of your fish in millimeters:

Length of your water plants in millimeters:
...

OBSERVATIONS
DAY/ENTRY Fish Plant Water Estimated Interruptions Other
DATE number Behavior Quality quality Temperature and/or Observations
Accidents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
 PART III- Post Lab
Discussion

1. Did your fish survive? How long? Explain.

2. What do you think the limiting factors may have been for students who had the fish die in their
closed bottle ecosystem?

3. What organisms make of the community of your closed bottle ecosystems?

4. In your poster, draw a food chain that exists in your closed bottle ecosystem. Use the guide below.

5. What did this project teach you about recycling (such as CO2, O2) in an ecosystem? Explain in a
few sentences
Name: Due date:
Fish in a Bottle - Project
Grading: You will initially start with 100 pts for your project grade . You will lose points
for the following items:
Observations Present Partially Not Total
Present Present

1. Done at equal intervals of Time and date Deduct 1 pts per

time (same hour every day for clearly recorded missing item No pts. If more that
two weeks - on Table in WS) Keep 5 pts. two entries missed

2. Water quality, fish, and Clearly recorded Deduct 2 pts per No pts.
plant descriptions. (on Table in WS) missing item
(10
observations)
Keep 20 pts.
3. Length of fish in millimeters Clearly recorded Deduct 2 pts if No pts.
(add all lengths into one single (on Table in WS) estimate is only for
measurement). This is a one- each fish and not a
time entry. Keep 5 pts. collective measure
for all fish or not
done in millimeters
4. Length of water plants in Clearly recorded Deduct 2 pts if No pts.
millimeters (add all lengths estimate is only for
into one single measurement). Keep 5 pts. each fish and not a
This is a one-time entry. collective measure
for all fish or not
done in millimeters
5. Other observations: Clearly recorded Deduct 2 pts if less No pts.
interruptions with a (2+ items) than 2 items
cause/Accidents/mistakes/amo Keep 5 pts. recorded
unt of sunlight/ estimated
temperature/pH
6. Poster: Includes your Deduct points for No pts.
Must Contain your Project’s food chain and missed items:
Food Chain (from worksheet) pictures of your Food chain is wrong
Include pictures of your project. – deduct 10 pts
Keep 20 pts.
experience.
7. Fish in a Bottle Evidence Complete in a Deduct 10 pts. if No pts.
sealed container failed due to
Keep 40 pts negligence in the
care of the fish.

General Project Guidelines Total

Deductions if…No name on project
Deductions if…No evidence of physical project (your fish in a bottle)
 Deductions for…Sloppiness
Deductions if… Worksheet answers not accurate or missed (up to 15 pts.)
Date turned in:
# of days late:

Remember: Your project grade is worth 100 points total. It is intended to help you better understand
habitats and ecosystems and improve your grade. Please take this seriously and turn it in on time.