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%.