Observation 5: November 13, 2013

Today I saw a few new organisms that I was not able to identify to genus level, but I was able to identify them to their phylum. I saw multiple Annelids, which have been difficult for me to find because they seem to like to hide in the soil at the bottom. I saw one struggling to eat or move a piece of plant material or debris and another at the bottom of the tank searching for food.

I also saw many Euplotes again this week and was able to take a better photo of them (Patterson, 1964).

Finally, probably my favorite organism that I've seen in the tank is an Amoeba. However, I was not able to identify it to genus or species level. It moved in a very odd fashion; it was like a slime and it's body would contort and change depending on the direction it was moving. There seemed to be things swimming inside of it. I'm not sure whether it was part of the organism or things it had eaten. It can be seen here next to a Euplotes. I saw several Amoebas, but this one was the biggest of them (Patterson, 1964). 

Observation 4: November 6, 2013

Though the microaquarium seems to look the same as it has the past few weeks, some of the activity seems to be slowing down. The Nostocs I had seen moving before do not seem dead, but they are moving much less than previously observed. The Diatoms also seem to be stationary with some slow movements, but they are not as active as they were before. I am not sure if this is due to the tank getting older or if it was just a coincidence and the time of day that I viewed them.

Diatoms still seem to be the most prolific of the organisms, but I was able to identify a new organism today. It looks like an everyday common insect, mostly like a beetle, except it is transparent. It looks like it has a shell on its back and legs, which are actually cilia. It is clear and has "horn" type features on what looks to be it's head. It moves quickly and there are many of them and they vary in size. The photos I took are not great, but the organism can be seen (Patterson, 1964).

Observation 3: October 30, 2013

On the third observation I continued to see more diatoms. I still saw the long, yellow and clear banana-shaped diatoms, but also saw a very different looking diatom as well. It is much wider and oblong than the previous diatoms. It was ribbed around the edges and moved somewhat slow. It is a yellowish-green color and is single-celled. Inside the organism looked like smaller organisms moving inside of it, though I am not sure if they were actually other organisms or just part of the diatom. The diatom is called Surirella sp. (Carter-Lund and Lund, 1995).

Another banana-shaped diatom identified as well. This one is called Gyrosigna sp. (Lund and Lund, 1995). It looks extremely similar to the other banana-shaped diatoms and they are very difficult to tell apart.

The last organism identified is something that I had not yet seen before. It is called Cyclidium sp. (Patterson, 1964). The organism was feeding at the time of observation by using it's cilia to pull the water in, thus pulling in food. While observing, it did not move other than using it's cilia, however when it was done, it moved away very quickly by a flagellum. 

Other activity worth noting was around the beta food pellet. There were swarms of organisms feeding off the pellet. The pellet was up near the top of the tank, where usually less organisms are observed, but since the food pellet was stationed up top, the organisms moved there too.