October 29, 2010 - second observation

Today, I observed my microaquarium for the second time. There was much more movement within the aquarium than the inital observation and I also recognized many of the different type of organisms I observed.
One of the first changes that I noticed in my microaquarium was there were many diatoms. Diatoms are brown cells with symmetrical silica shells which have distinctive patterns. The pattern for this particular diatom was a rectangle divided into sections; some of the diatoms had more than one of them attached together and some were just individual rectangles. They were unmoving and spread sporadically throughout the bottom half of my microaquarium.
I also recognized many cilia and cyphoderia. However, the most common moving organsim that I observed was a type of euglenoid called the Phacus. Its body resembled a tadpole, having an oval body with a small tail. Many of these organisms were infested in the bottom later of the soil, swiftly weaving throughout feeding on the soil and plants.
The most interesting specimen I saw in my observation today was an insect larvae called midge. I followed it through the microaquarium as it glided in and out of the plants. The midge had a worm-like body with a tail and it appeared as though it had small hands and feet that had some sort of feelers on them so that it could feel its way through its environment. Also, it had antennas and a small mouth. While I was observing it, the midge would weave and tangle itself within the plants that were in the top half of my microaquarium. I could see it with my naked eye, however it just looked like a small white string.
Overall, the observation was much more productive than the initial observation. Many more organisms were apparent and moving around and I also gave a name to the specimens I observed rather than only describing them.

Beta Food Pellet Added

On Friday October 22, 2010 one Beta Food Pellet was added to my microaquarium.
Following is some specific information on the Beta Food Pellet:
--"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% (McFarland...Botany 111 2010).

Source: McFarland, K. 2010 October 22. [cited 2010 October 25]. Beta Food Pellet. [Internet]. Available from Botany 111 2010 Blog Spot.

My first look at my specimen

In my microaquarium, I used Water Source 2, which comes from the French Broad River of the Seven IslandsWildlife Refuge in Knox County, Tennessee (McFarland...Botany 111 2010 ). Also, when observing, we are only allowed to use 4X and 10X magnification.

When observing my microaquarium on the first day, it was pretty still except for many miniscule organisms moving around, most of them on the very top layer of the soil. The first organism I saw was a round, transparent organism that appeared to just be floating around until it found a patch of floating soil in which it fed off of. This particular organism looked like it had a tail and its body slightly resembled that of a tadpole. The organisms I observed after that varied in size, color, and body movement. The most interesting organism I saw was long and branch-like. It could fold up like an accordion and it moved very slowly. When I first sighted it, one of its ends was attached to a tiny ball of soil folding itself every couple of seconds. Eventually it released itself from the soil and moved around in the same area. Overall, my first experience observing my microaquarium was very fascinating and I enjoyed it very much.

Source: McFarland, K. 2010 October 4. [cited 2010 October 25]. Water Source 2. [Internet]. Available from Botany 111 2010 Blog Spot.