Final Observation

The final observation showed the boom in the Coleochaete sp. population, which is a green algae that was present everywhere, but an apparent diminishing of the living organisms that were present.  I did noticed the presence of several more Rotifers than I had before.  There was a large increase in the amount of nematodes present, in which they were not hiding in the soil as they did previously, possibly because the apparent degradation of it.  There was a lot of stringy Algae present also, which looked like the whole micro aquarium was covered in hair.  In addition to this, I notice the presence of many expended diatoms and dead organisms ominously littering many parts of the tank.  The water level had also dropped since the earlier observation, which could have been some of the result of the organisms numbers diminishing, or their numbers might have diminished due to an expiring of the beta food tablet that was administered.  Below I have provided some images of some of the organisms and species that I had observed over the course of the micro tank study.

(Smith)

(Forest HS)

(DJ Patterson)

(Forest HS)

(Dr.McFarland)

KG Rainis

Works Cited:

- Patterson DJ, Hedley S. 2003.  Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa. Washington D.C:  ASM Press.

-Rainis KG, Russell BJ. 1996. Guide to Microlife. New York City, NY: Franklin Watts

- Forest HS. 1954. Handbook of Algae. Knoxville, TN: The University of Tennesee

-Smith. 2001.Pennak's Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States.Toronto,Canada:John Wiley and  Sons Inc.p.490

-Dr. McFarland

Third observation

On my third observation, much had changed. There was an interesting new observation was the prevalence of what is called a flat worm. The tank was also more thoroughly covered with the green stringy organism. The amount of nematodes in the tank also boomed, with being over double of what I previously observed. Also, the number of cyclops seemed to have increased. The leaves in the plants have seem to have been eaten and are slowly but surely deteriorating. I took a series of pictures last observation that will be posted once obtained.

Observation October 29, 2010

On todays observation after the addition of the food tablet, several things were different.  The biggest change that was evident was the presence of a green algae that was growing all around the sides of the aquarium.  Also, the ground dirt seemed to be formed into several sacks by this green algae.  Within these sacks I noticed the same worm-like organisms I have before, but in much larger numbers.  I have been able to classify these as nematodes.  There seems to be about 30 in the tank that I could notice.  I noticed about 5 cyclops which was a increase from the two or three I noticed last week.  There were many daphnia, around 100 which seemed to be eating the plants in the aquarium, which appeared to have eaten leaves and browning of green spots.  My final observation was that I noticed a considerable drop in the water level.  The Food tablet was added on Friday October 22, 2010 and here is the information regarding it.
- 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%. 

Aquarium Observation Friday October 24, 2010

Today I noticed a large growth in organisms, especially with larger sized organisms.  I noticed 9 different organisms this time which is a much more considering I saw about two different kinds last observation.  The first organism I saw was what I think is a Actinospaerium which was a green ball with green tentacle looking things protruding from it.  The next was a larger organism which I believe to be a Daphnia, which resembled something almost like a crab.  It seemed to feed along the edges of the aquarium, mostly around the bottom soil level.  The next organism that I observed was a pod shaped one that had hair like growth from it.  These were the same organisms that I observed last time, but were larger and more numerous than before.  I noticed many of them along the dirt and especially on the plants in which they seemed to be feeding on those.  These moved very quickly around.  The next organism that I saw was shaped like a small ball and moved in a very jolt-like way.  These were noticed in a large quantity around the bottom corner of the tank where the dirt had moved away.  The next organism that I observed was what I believe to be a Euglena, which was pod shaped and had a tail like thing.  These seemed to have a worm-like movement.  Another organism that I observed was what I believe to be a Rotifer, which moved in a twitching way and seemed to be concentrated along the side of the tank where there was some green growth beginning.  One organism that I saw looked pill form and was a vibrant darker green color, but I was only able to see one of these.  Another organism that I observed was a Cyclops, which appeared to have a moustache looking appendage on it.  The last organism I observed was the same worm-like organism that that stayed pretty well hidden in the soil at the bottom of the tank.  A thing to note is that there were several brown spots appearing on the plants, which could possible be a result of the organisms using them as a food source.  Another thing to note is that there were a few air bubbles present which show that some form of respiration is occuring whether it's from the plants going through photosynthesis or through microbial respiration.

Setting up the Micro-aquarium

Setting up the aquarium required following several steps.  The aquarium itself was put together from 3 pieces, a base, tank, and top.  These were coded with 3 colored dots placed on the left side of the tank which are used to distinguish between individual tanks.  My dots sequence ended up being red, green, red.  The next step required choosing a water source to add to the aquariums from a list provided.  The water source that I choose was from the Fountain City Duck Pond which had a corresponding number of 11(full description is provided below).  Along with adding the water, a thin layer of soil was added to the bottom of the tank which was also taken from the place of the water source.  I then added the two different plants that were provided to the tank, which upon next lab I will update this post with the name of those.  I then observed this aquarium under a microscope.  I noticed several moving objects which were very interesting.  There was one green elongated egg shaped one that kind of moved in a worm like motion.  Another organism I observed was a large, fast moving, and pod shaped.  It seemed to dart around all over the place.  The third organism that I observed was hiding in the soil.  This appeared to look and act very similar to a common earthworm, and it was much larger than the other organisms in the tank.  

11. Fountain City Duck Pond. West of Broadway at Cedar Lane. Knox Co. Knoxville TN Full sun exposure. Spring Feed Pond N36 02.087 W83 55.967 963 ft 10/10/2010