2nd Observation

Observation on October 24, 2012

On the 24th, I picked up my MicroAquarium for the second time to discover new and tons more organisms swimming around in the water collected from the French Broad River, Seven Wildlife Refuge (McFarland 2012).

The plants placed inside of the aquarium (Amblestegium sp.- moss and Utricularia gibba L. a flowering and carnivous plant) had looked as if they had red crystallized circles and tendons that linked leaf to leaf underneath a compound microscope ( McFarland 2012). The water level had diminished some as well, leaving the tops of the Amblestegium sp. and the Utricularia gibba poking out of the water (McFarland 2012). Dead organisms were stationary in either the water or near the mud at the bottom of the MicroAquarium. Globs of dirt and other organic material floated around in the MicroAquarium with unicellular protists and cyanobacteria both speeding and crawling by along the lens of the microscope. 

I actually saw some of the same rotifers that I saw in the first observation. However, I saw tons more protist and cyanobacteria than last time (and I have pictures this time). :>

Figure 1: I located several green cyanobacteria called Oscillatoria sp. (Carter-Lund and Lund 1995). This solo cyanobacteria did not move much and pretty much stayed near the bottom of the tank.

Figure 2: Another cyanobacteria, a blue-green Mersimopedia sp., was found slowly creeping along in the MicroAquarium towards the bottom of the tank ( Patterson 1996). 

Figure 3: The Difflugia sp. above is a protist that uses the dirt and other material in the MicroAquarium as a type shell (the dark covering) and extends its body out to collect more (Patterson 1996).  The Difflugia moved slowly, however, its extensions moved rather fast to collect material. It was found in the middle, bottom of the tank. 

With Protozoan, I found that this site: http://www.savalli.us/BIO385/Diversity/01.Protozoa.html

helped with both the pictorial detail and information. 

Figure 4: Another protist, a Peranema sp., was trekking quite quickly through mud as if it were swimming furiously in the water in the MicroAquarium with two flagellum to help it ( Patterson 1996). 

Friday October 26, 2012: 

My MicroAquarium received one Beta Fish Food Pellet. It is a part of the "Atison's Betta Food" produced by Ocean Nutrition , Aqua Pet Americas, located at 3528 West 500 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84104( McFarland 2012). Some of the ingredients include: fish meal, wheat flower, soy meal, krill meal, minerals, vitamins, and preservatives (McFarland 2012). Beta Food Pellets are made of 36 percent crude protein, 4.5 percent crude fat, 3.5 percent crude fiber, 8 percent moisture, and 15 percent ash (McFarland 2012).