Week 3 Observations

At the end of the third week of my MicroAquarium, I made new observations.  The organisms have thrived in both numbers and size.  Like last week, Rotifers are the dominant organisms that I observed, followed by bacteria.  This week, I observed the coolest organism yet, a Philodina rotifer.  The Philodina has a circular attatchment on the front of its body that looks like a saw blade spinning and chopping when it eats (picture 2).  Also this week, a food pellet was added to the MicroAquarium.  Information on the 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%.  I observed organisms swarming around the pellet feeding.  It was interesting to see how these organisms interact together.  I did not observe anything that looked like fighting over food or dominance.  I wasn't sure how well the organisms would get with the introduction of food (picture 1).  I will continue my observations next week and report back.

Week 2 Observation

My MicroAquarium has been assembled for 9 days now.  I had a chance to observe my aquarium under a microscope to see what was going on.  I was very surprised to find how many organisms were alive and thriving.  I saw organisms of various size and shape.  I saw organisms swimming, eating, and hiding in the foliage.  Some examples of organisms I observed were Euchlanis (Rotifer), Philodina (Rotifer), and different Cyanobacteria.  It was interesting to see these organisms living together and moving around each other.  I did not notice any of the organisms competing or fighting for food, but maybe if there is a food shortage that might be a possibility.  I will check back on my MicroAquarium next week and see how the organisms are surviving and if any of them are actually growing.

Setting Up My MicroAquarium

For the project we each set-up a MicroAquarium.  We had 13 different water samples to choose from.  Once we chose, we extracted water and sediment from our sample and added it to our MicroAquarium.  For my sample I am going to be observing sample 3: Carter Mill Park at spring source (information following).  Once we added the water to our sample, we added a small amount of Fontinalis (Moss) and Utricularia gibba (flowering plant).  These plants will provide oxygen, nutrients, and shelter for the organisms to grow inside the MicroAquarium.  We will observe the MicroAquariums we have put together over the next four weeks and see what organisms grow. 

3. Carter Mill Park at spring source, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. Tennessee Partial shade exposure N36 01.168 W83 42.832 940 ft 10/10/2010