Observation #5

This week in the observation there were a few interesting things that happened. One thing was that the cyclops weren't all dead. There were two that were very live and well. Dr. MacFarland says that one might have been pregnant before and I didn't notice. The snail was also very alive but was slower and barely moving.
There was also an abundance of Spirogyra, which is a green algae. It was found throughout my aquarium in long strands. There was also quite a lot of the diatom Fragilaria which is found in freshwater sources.
The highlight was finding the rotifer Collotheca ornata cornuta. A video was taken of us tapping the glass, watching the rotifer collapse in on itself and then pop back out. It was fascinating and amazing to watch.

Donner J. 1956. Rotifers. Germany: W. Keller & Co. 23 p.

Pennak R. 1953. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States. New York: Ronald Press Company. 669 p.

Observation #4

During the observation this week, I noticed right away that something was completely different. Last week, Dr. McFarland added one beta food pellet the the microaquarium. It was from "Atison's Betta Food" made by Ocean Nutrition, Aqua Pet Americas, 3528 West 500 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84104. Ingredients: Fish meal, wheat flower, soy meal, krill meal, minerals, vitamins and preservatives. Analysis: Crude Protein 36%; Crude fat 4.5%; Crude Fiber 3.5%; Moisture 8% and Ash 15%. Because of this, the plant life grew exponentially. It doubled in size and took over most of the microaquarium. The water was also much lower than the previous week.

Another very noticeable aspect was the absence of the cyclops that had taken over the microaquarium last week. Last week, with the food, the cyclops grew very large, but now the only ones that were there were either dead or barely moving. The snail is also not moving, but I'm no sure if it was dead since it was in it's shell. There were more nemotodes this week than in previous weeks, and that could be because of the decline of the aggressive cyclops.

Bibliography

Donner J. 1956. Rotifers. Germany: W. Keller & Co. 23 p.

Patterson DJ. 2013. Free-living Freshwater Protozoa. London: Manson Publishing. 133 p.

Pennak R. 1953. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States. New York: Ronald Press Company. 669 p.

Observation #3

This week, Dr. McFarland added a food pellet to the MicroAquarium so the organisms have been growing rapidly. The space is overrun with Cyclops, and they've gotten big enough to see with then naked eye. When put under a microscope, they scatter as fast as possible, so it is hard to get a shot of them. There was one nemotode buried and wriggling in the pond scum but unable to get out.

The main attraction this week, as I assume will be every week, was the snail. It had moved up to the edge of the water and I was able to get a shot of the underside vacuum mechanism it uses to feed. An interesting note, is that it was very hard to get any shots because the cyclops kept attacking it. Every time they would attack it, it would cower back in it's shell and wait for an extended period of time to come back out. From the top, the snail looks normal, and it has a flapper on each side to steer itself. Underneath, there is a flap that helps to move the snail, and also it's mouth.

Patterson DJ. 2013. Free-living Freshwater Protozoa. London: Manson Publishing. 133 p.