Lab Observations 3

Made: 10.29.13
       I made the third set of observations on my MicroAquarium today. At first, I tried the compound microscope, but neither Dr. McFarland nor myself could focus the lens correctly. This proved to be the theme of day, unfortunately.
       It turns out that a great many changes had taken place since last week. Yesterday, a beta food pellet was added to the aquarium. When I viewed my aquarium (after the second microscope..) I noticed that quite a lot of activity was happening around said pellet, which had mostly dissolved leaved debris floating throughout the aquarium. This included activity from several different new organisms and new types of organisms. I noted the addition of these new species: Euchlanis sp., Lecane sp. (Pennack, 1953), Vorticella sp., Coleps sp., Cyclops sp.(Rainis & Russell, 1996), Tachysoma sp, Halteria sp., Cercomnas sp., and Anisonema sp. (Patterson, 2003). I also saw a few organisms that were not properly identified, including a worm-like organism that appeared to have a light receptor (like the cyclops) and what I believe is a younger Philodina sp. Some of the organisms were more noteworthy than others. I will describe the behaviors and observations I noted while viewing each organism, respectively, in the following paragraphs.
         I could see movement in my aquarium with the naked eye. This appeared to be the Cyclops sp., of whom I viewed at least three of various sizes, now currently residing in my aquarium (Pennack, 1953). They acted as if the light from the microscope irritated them, so they swam away as the slide moved over it. This made watching them a tad difficult though. A few different specimens of the Euchlanis sp. and the Lecane sp. were captured and observed together. The movement of the Euchlanis sp. as well as its appearance reminded me of the Philodina sp., which makes sense as they are both rotifers.(Pennack 1953).They (as well as most of the organisms) tended to dwell near the food pellet and surrounding debris. However, two larger Euchlanis sp.'s were viewed swimming along the bottom of the tank as well, one of which seemed to eat a smaller organism, but it could have been debris. Speaking of the bottom of the tank, I did not observe any dead organisms, but I'm sure there must be some by now. I didn't see the Philodina sp. from last time, so it may very well be dead, just unseen (Pennack 1953).
      There were many Coleps sp. in my aquarium today. They're just small, black, spherical organisms, one of which appeared to be ingesting particles/debris from its surroundings (Rainis & Russell 1996).  I managed to catch pictures of the Tachysoma sp. (which had a spastic movement), the Halteria sp. (Patterson 1996), and, my favorite of today, the Vorticella sp, (Rainis & Russell 1996). These organisms are documented in Fig 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

Fig. 2. Shows Halteria sp. notice cilia
 protruding all around, like a starburst.

Fig. 1. Shows Tachysoma sp. note "feelers"
protruding from tail end (right).

Fig. 3. The Vorticella sp. note long protrusion attached
to plant and bell like body (Rainis & Rusell 1996).

         The Vorticella sp. was particularly interesting. I learned they usually are found in clusters or groups (Rainis & Russell 1996). I know I personally saw around four in the same area (is that a "cluster"?). I found their bell shape appealing and the way they moved resembled seaweed, as in they swayed. Very cool organisms.
        There are both single and multicellular organisms in my micro-aquarium, though as we've seen the organism types vary each time. Each of these organisms move, but their movements also vary, ranging from quick bursts to slow spins. There are chlorophyll organisms in the form of plants, though the plants aren't doing so well in this environment. They look basically dead. They've aged and turned dark. Algae-like debris has started to collect on the prongs of the Ultricularia gibba plant (McFarland, 2013). This could, however, be particles of the almost fully dissolved betta food pellet.