Week 3

This week there was food added into my MicroAquarium. The specifics of the food are "Atison's Betta Food" made by Ocean Nutrition, Aqua Pet Americas, 3528 West 500 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84104. Ingredients were: 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 was able to identify many organisms in my MicroAquarium this week. The first organism I identified was a Trachyosoma. 

  (Patterson fig. 265)

The Trachyosoma wandered around the aquarium. This Trachyosoma did not really do much. It seemed to like just wandering around in the open space of the aquarium.  

(Patterson fig. 317)

The second organism I identified was the Bursaria. The Bursaria was a very interesting organism. It stayed in the same place and spun around. It was moving the water around it, this may have been to bring food sources to it. 

 (Prescott fig. 448)

The Diatom was a very cool looking organism. I was not able to identify its specific species because there are millions of Diatoms. It did not really do much. It floated in free space and did not seem to have a purpose to it. I am sure there was one though. 

 

The Epalaxis was a very quick moving organism. It was very hard to get a picture of. It moved from object to object only staying on it for a split second. This picture does not show it well but it has cilia that  do all the moving for the object. 

 

The Genus Amoeba was a very slow moving object. It was making its way through the plants when I was watching it. It was very large and had no real structure. It could shift its body any way it needed too. 

(Patterson fig. 273)

The Trachelophyllum was the coolest organism I saw. It had a very big vacuole called a contracting vacuole. The vacuole would collapse and re-open to regulate the water in it. It was very cool because I could watch it open and close. 

(Patterson fig. 231)

The Vorticella was a very interesting object. It did not move the whole time I watched it. All it did was shake back and forth. It moved the water a significant amount. 

Bibliography

Presscott, G.W. 1964. The Fresh Water Algae. Dubuque, Iowa. W.M. C. Brown Company.

Patterson, D.J. 1996. Free Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Color Guide. Manson Publishing NY.