Week 3: Observations and New Life

This week was the first time observing the MicroAquarium since the food pellet was added. It was really easy to find a lot of life around where it was added and was dissolving at the top. Near and all through it there were many fattened nematodes and like almost everywhere there were lots of rotifers scampering around. There were some things seen this week that I for some reason had not seen yet.


First, there was a number of seed shrimp (Crustacea Ostracoda) that are about 8 to 10 times bigger than the rotifers. They didn't seem to prefer one area over another as I saw them in the silt, on the aquatic plants, and in open areas. They were really something to watch; as they moved like crabs along pieces of plant fibers, and hovered in the open pumping their legs like a tiny machine. Being able to see right through them it was really something to watch.


Also, last week, I somehow missed the largest small organism I believe I could have ever missed. The freshwater snails (Gastropoda) that were in the MicroAquarium were huge compared to most everything else. Still while being able to see through them they were able to contain enough pigment to where they appeared mostly like any snail you could find under a rock. It's shell was mostly see through as well, and because of its size I could see its heart pounding, its radula munching, and its organs pumping.

Sources:

Pennak, R. Fresh-Water Invertebrates: Protozoa to Mulluska. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.; 1978

Ranis, K., Russel, B. Guide to Microlife. Houston: Children's Press(CT); 1996

Week 2: First Observations

This past week was the first open lab in which we were able to view organisms and find out what all we had in our MicroAquarium. Using the microscope I was able to find a lot of very different things. Some simple in shape and other surprisingly complicated for their relatively small size. In my MicroAquarium I had tons of Rotifers. From best I could see of these fast little guys I believe they were Rotifera Synchaeta. Also I saw many diatoms, mostly Pinnularia. The first thing I saw however was a large worm like thing, later identified to be a nematode. There were quite a few of them, especially up by the aquatic plant pieces. There were a number of photosynthetic microorganisms as well, including a few Spirogyra and a number of Desmatodes. After looking in one of the handbooks, I was able to conclude that the Desmatode I photographed was of SP. Pleurotaenium.

Also on Friday, Oct 22nd, all of the MicroAquariums were given one food pellet. It was a "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%.

Nematode (Nematoda)

Diatom (Pinnularia)

Desmatode (SP. Pleurotaenium)

 Rotifer (Rotifera Synchaeta)

Sources:

Canter-Lund, H., Lund, J. Freshwater Algae: Their Microscopic World Explored. Bristol: Balogh Scientific Books; 1995

Forest, H. Handbook of Algae. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press; 1954

Rainis, K., Russel, B. Guide to Microlife. Houston: Children's Press(CT); 1996

WEEK 1: Setting Up

This week in lab we set up our MicroAquariums! Here's how we did it:

First, we received a MicroAquarium, consisting of a tiny tank, stand, and lid.
Next, we labeled them with 3 different colored dots. One for our lab section, table, and seat. Then on those dots we wrote out initials.
After that, we put in the tank a thin layer of sediment followed by water from a designated source. We got the first 1/3 of our water from the lower area of water, middle 1/3 from the middle, and top 1/3 from just under the surface.
Next, we added some small parts of plants and mosses into the MicroAquarium.
Then, we placed it on the stand and placed the lid on it and allowed it all to settle.


My MicroAquarium is labeled with dots Blue, Yellow, Red, and my initials CRG. The water source my sample came from was source 9, or the Pond at Sterchi Hills Greenway Trail.


So far just from looking at it under the microscope, I've seen a number of what appear to be worm-like organisms, and what i believe to be a large amount of diverse protist. This week I will be focusing on identifying some of these and hopefully uploading some pictures.