Observation3

On Thursday 10/25/07 Dr. McFarland added a Beta Fish food pellet to the aquarium. The details are as follows: It is 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%.

It has made a drastic difference in the Micro Aquarium! Even by looking with the unaided eye you can tell there is an increased amount of vegetation growth. The greatest increase appears to have been with the algae. There are strings of algae anchored all over the aquarium. There is also a marked increase in animal life as well. Last week I had trouble locating some organisms, however this week everywhere I have observed there have been large amounts of varied types of organisms. I was able to observe a water flea for the first time this week. Many rotifers of two different types were there. Also this week I was able to observe two amoebas, which was the first time I had seen them as well! There are two pictures up of them, and it was such a thrill to watch them. They moved around, oozing their way over strings of algae and around other obstacles. It was fascinating to watch their cytoplasm stream around as they did so. There also seemed to be more air bubbles this time too, suggesting that there is some anaerobic respiration going on, and since the aquarium is not air tight, some aerobic possibly as well. I was also able to identify and observe many vorticella plants anchored all over the aquarium as well. There were two or three other organisms I have yet to identify that I hope to find and give the information on as well this upcoming week.