Fifth and Final Observation

This week in my MicroAquarium, I saw some great stuff. Microstuff. 

Epilaxus sp. (Patterson p. 141 figure 311)

Pediastrum sp. (Canter-Lund p. 30 figure 31)

These guys were everywhere, on every level of the water.

Pinnularia sp. (Canter-Lund p. 119 figure 207)

Merismopedia sp. (Forest p. 373 figure 574)

I found this guy close to the dirt in the bottom of my MicroAquarium, and this was the only one (that I found, at least).

     

Water Mite (Rainis p. 240)

Notosolenus sp. (Patterson p. 54 figure 80)

I am so proud of my blanket algae, and the Pediastrum is also pretty special. This is my last observation post. Goodbye, my MicroFriends. 

Observation the Fourth

Here's what I found in my MicroAquarium this week, lots of cool stuff:
Spirogyra (Lund p.109 figure 193)

Difflugia (Patterson p. 95 figure 186)

Euplotes (Patterson p. 124 figure 261)

I also found the Euplotes while dividing:

Litnotus

I also found a diatoms of the genus Navicula, some Flagellaria, and an insect larvae trapped in the bottom corner of the MicroAquarium. The  larvae could be seen clearly without a microscope. 

Bibliography

Patterson, D.J. 2003. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: a color guide. 2nd ed. ASM Press. 223 pages.

Rainis, K.G. and Russell, B.J. 1996. A Guide to Microlife. Frank Watts. 287 pages.

Forest, H.S. 1954. Handbook of Algae. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. 467 pages.

Canter-Lund, H. 1995. Freshwater Algae: their microscopic world explored. Illustrated edition. Bio press Limited. 360 pages.

Third MicroAquarium Observation

This past week in my MicroAquarium, I saw a lot of microlife, and even got some pictures. I was able to identify the following creatures:

Closterium sp., found in free water close to the dirt

Cyclidium and Bodo swarming the new food pellet

an analid worm called Chaetogaster sp.

I also found some unidentified cyano bacteria, a Lecane rotifer, and a Water Mite (Acarina).

On 10/25/13, Dr. McFarland added one food pellet to my MicroAquarium. The food pellet was  "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% (McFarland, 2013).All information on the food pellet is provided by Dr. Mcfarland in the Botany 111 Fall 2013 blog under the blog post "Beta Food Pellet added to each MicroAquarium." http://botany1112013.blogspot.com/

To identify the Cyclidium, Dr. McFarland and I used D.J. Patterson's "Free-Living Fresh Water Protozoa."