4

(vorticella)

MicroAquarium Observation 11.6.09

There was much decay and inactivity in my aquarium this week. Whether I missed an opportunity to lend my aquarium additional water or nutrients or other aquariums simply had more fruitful water sources, mine appears to be either struggling to sustain its life or the more vibrant organisms witnessed earlier are simply making way for the blossoming more minuscule organisms. Although the chomping ostracods, who consume much more food than their tinier and much more abundant neighbors, the vorticella, and the dirt worms have appeared to diminish almost completely, there is a high amount of (new) smaller microorganisms. Most of these organisms appear to be tiny worms and other (possibly single-celled) aquatic animals floating around without a strong dependence on or connection to the plants. The dirt appears to be more sparse, the plants are browning and their leaves are decaying. There was one immobile ostracod spotted in contrast to the fifteen or so my aquarium began with. Numerous tiny paramecia dominate the water, not constricted to the area of one plant or the other, one of which (to be clearly identified in next observation) I witnessed consume a diatom. During observation of the vorticella, I caught sight of one that had detached from its stalk and floated into the dirt. (http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/index.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/pond/index.html) There were also a few amoebas spotted along Plant A.


(a lone ostracod near the bottom)



(recent evolution of Plant A, with hyphae-like apendages sprouting over the plant)


Source:
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/index.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/pond/index.html