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.