November 12, 2010

The four above pictures are of the Non-biting Midge that was in my microaquarium.  The following book was used in its identification:  Olsen L, Sunesen J, Pedersen B.  2001.  Small Freshwater Creatures.  New York:  Oxford University Press, p. 78.

I identified the Ostracods in the aquarium using:  Olsen L, Sunesen J, Pedersen B.  2001.  Small Freshwater Creatures.  New York:  Oxford University Press, p. 138.

This is a picture of one of the Cyclopses in the tank.  Its identification was made possible by:  Thorp JH, Covich AP.  1991.  Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates.  San Diego:  American Press Inc., p. 461.

This Rotifer of family Mytilinidae was identified using:  Thorp JH, Covich AP.  1991.  Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates.  San Diego:  American Press Inc., p. 233.

The identification of this attached (non-free living) Rotifer was aided in the use of:  Pennak RW.  1989.  Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States:  Protozoa to Mollusca.  3rd ed.  New York:  John Wiley & Sons, p. 219.

November 4, 2010

The insect larvae is still alive this week and is see through with spots ringing each segment.  It is also covered in tiny hairs.  These details were much easier to see with the microscope that I used this week while taking pictures.  I am still in the process of identifying the pictures of the organisms that I took, however, so I won't be posting them this week.  I will probably have them up within the next few days though.  Among the organisms that I took pictures of and have identified are ostracods, cyanobacteria, oscillatoria, and a juvenile cyclops.  The oscillatoria are a type of filamentous cyanobacteria that are known for their oscillating movements.  They are very rod-like and blue-green in color.  The juvenile cyclops doesn't have the long tail that is characteristic of the mature cyclopses.  It is therefore composed mainly of a roundish body with small protrusions spiking off of it and is easily identifiable as cyclops by the eyespot.  There are also many rotifers, diatoms, tachysoma, nematodes, coleochaete, and euglina.  The diatoms are found throughout the microaquarium.  These are characterized by their glassy appearance.  The Euglina are very jerky in their movements due to its vacuole's periodic contractions.  Coleochaete are part of the green algae and are organized into multicellular structures, and are also known as round worms and are unsegmented.

October 29, 2010

On Friday October 22, 2010 "ONE" Beta Food Pellet was inserted into each microaquarium ("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%).

The large worm I saw last week in the soil was much more active this time and actually came out of the soil, so I was able to identify it better.  It is an insect larvae of the species Chironomidae, also known as non-biting midges.  It is segmented, has fore and hind feet, and is pretty transparent everywhere except for the head.  The soil has acquired quite a bit of Cyanobacteria growth which just appears as blue-green filaments under the microscope.  There are also even more remains of dead organisms at the bottom of the tank than there were last week.  Throughout the microaquarium small unicellular organisms can be found.  Among these are what could possibly be Euplotes which more quickly and appear to propel themselves by cilia, and some smaller, rounder which might be Colpodium.  In the lower left hand corner of the tank there is also a cluster of Epistylin.  These have cilia and occasionally move and twitch, but generally are pretty stationary.  I have also observed that there seem to be fewer Cyclopses than there were last week, but there are still quite a few Ostracods.  The Ostracods have an outer shell which is covered with very small hairs and are generally fairly opaque.  Scattered throughout the tank there are a lot more small particles than I remember from last week.  I assume these are a result of the pellet that was added breaking down.