Observation #5

Today in class I was able to observe a seed shrimp. These little creatures dance around the microaquariam in search of food. It had a graceful push to it whenever it would start swimming. It stayed mostly near the plants in the middle layer of the tank. I also found a dead one. This was the only live seed shrimp I could find in my tank which leads me to believe maybe they do not thrive well in the environment.                                                           

Below here are the unidentified organisms classified by Mr. McFarland. We were still not able to categorize these small unknown creatures but they are thriving very well in this environment. They are all over the place, in large clumps where there is food. They mostly stay above the dirt on the bottom. They do not venture to the top very often. They dwell within the plants as this is their protection and food source. 

I was able to locate a new species while in lab. Gonionmonas (Patterson 62) are tiny

tiny creatures that are only seen with a higher microscope. I found these within the bunches of tiny unknown organisms from above. They like to stay near the open, not going near plants too much. They have flagella and make small circular movements throughout the water. They have a single eyespot.

This nematode was just one of the many nematodes in my tank. It was unusual to see it outside of the plants but there is an abundant amount in my tank. They like to dig in the dirt in search of dead organisms. This one was out in the open with all the other tiny organisms in search of live food. Their movements are like that of a worm. They criss cross and do not stop moving for long periods of time. 

This rotifer was identified by Mr. McFarland. It was very interesting to find this one still intact but is not  alive. When alive they come out of their protection and what looks like a chainsaw they filter the water for food. Any sudden movement and they shrink back into their protection cove. 

I have attached a video of the unknown organisms in my tank. If this video does not appear please email me and I will send you the link for it. 

November 11, 2013
Observation #4

This past thursday in my lab I observed seed shrimp, identified by Professor McFarland (Patterson, 96). I also was able to find the seed shrimp shells where they hatched from. Their was only one but it swam around the mini tank very fast. It was hard to get a good look at it because of how fast it was moving. It stayed in the algae and periodically went down to the bottom in search of food.  As I looked longer under the microscope I was able to find more nematodes that were still stationed at the bottom of the mini tank. As I looked further into my algae, I found a very peculiar plant that was attached to one of the algae plants. It is a Vorticella sp. Mr. McFarland identified. I was finally able to identify the small large mass of objects moving around the mini tank. They are Colpidium sp. They are tending to stay in the middle of the tank. They like to keep in the plants, probably for protection. I am getting my five pictures together and will post them next week with the organisms I have observed.

Observation #3

In my observation on Thursday, october 31, I got to the lab and picked up my microaquariam. The water was very low so I added more water from the pump Mr. Mcfarland had for us to use. Once I got to my desk, I put it under the microscope and began to observe. What I found that was a signifigant change from my last observation was that their was a plethora of nematodes that had accumulated. They had taken over the food sources in the tank making it hard for the other species to survive. The nematode were leaving behind worm feces everywhere. The nematodes were the dominant large organisms swimming about. I did come across a smaller round organism with flagella that Mr. Mcfarland identified as Anisonema sp. (Patterson, 1996). 

Food was added to the aquarium by Professor McFarland on October 25, 2013. "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%. 

The plants seem to be stable in their new environment but are not growing much. The water is still clear and more organisms seem to be coming about as time progresses. I am still in the process of identifying them. There are many smaller organisms appearing that are hard to identify but I will soon provide pictures. 

Bibliography

McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 111 Fall 2013. [cited 10-24-13].

 Patterson, D. J. 1996. Free-living Freshwater Protozoa, A Colour Guide. 5th impression. 2013. Manson Publishing.

Microaquariam observation part 2 

Sunday, October 28

I checked up on my microaquariam Thursday, October 24 and found some very interesting organisms. The cyclops was a moving organism that propels itself forward searching for what it looks like to be food. It is a mulitcellular organism that has sort of a drab green/brown color. It liked to swim in the middle where the algae plants were. I only got to see one of these organisms, when we first viewed them, I saw two.  Hopefully more will come up as I continue observing. The next organism I was able to spot was a nematode.There were two multicellular nematodes that I did not see when I first set up my microaquariam. It liked to stay on the bottom only coming up hovering above the dirt for a short period then returning to the dirt at the bottom. These nematodes were clear. They did not have a color to them, so I was able to look inside their body which was very interesting! I have not seen any dead organisms, though I cannot locate the second cyclops body, I assume it maybe has buried itself in the dirt and is sleeping. The most interesting organisms I found that just recently came up were very tiny organisms. You can barely see them. They are clear and there were so many I could not count. I have no idea where these tiny organisms came from and I am having a hard time identifying them. They could possibly be tiny eggs from one of my organisms that hatched and are too small to identify yet. I asked a few people if they could help me identify them and they were just as confused as I was. They all liked to clump together in a big group. They stayed close to the bottom, although some ventured up. I hope this week when I observe my microaquariam again they will have grown so I can identify these tiny unknown creatures. 

First day microaquariam set up

When we got to our lab, we all grabbed a small container that would hold our microaquariam. Professor Mcfarland explained to us the various water samples he collected then we got to choose which water source we wanted to use. We set up this aquariam by putting togeather a small glass with a lid and a bottom stand. I chose to use a water sample from a duck pond. We filled the water about half way to the top then added plants to the water so that they can keep alive what ever organisms we had in the water. I decided to use all three plants. The organisms i saw under the microscope were mites. They looked like minature crabs and stayed in the dirt at the bottom of my microaquariam. That was the only living organism I could find under the microscope.