Observation 2

On Friday, October 23rd, I made the second observation of my MicroAquarium. I saw a few of the same organisms as before. I saw several euglenoids (organisms that look like small blades of grass with a red eye spot at the end). They were barely moving. I saw some dark green spherical-shaped organisms that were not moving. These were possibly green algae, which are single-celled organisms. I observed a Protozoa swimming slowly near Plant A. It was a round single-celled organism with a single eye spot and a flagella at the opposite end. Another observation I made near Plant A was a round clear organism the appeared to be throbbing. It was stationary, but its insides seemed to be throbbing like the beating of a human heart.

I saw some new organisms, or organisms I do not recall seeing during the first observation. The most impressive one was a slow-swimming Arthropod. It stayed close to Plant A. I think it was a Crustacea--Copepod. It was clear and had a red dot at the top of its "head." The center of its body was orange. It had 2 antennae and 2 tails. Another guess as to what it was is a Gastrotrich, because they have 2 tails. Something rather interesting I saw was a series of connected cube shapes. I think they are either Water-Web (green algae) or blue-green algae.

Some of the organisms I observed were clear. One was round and shaped like a tiny ball. It moved in a circular motion. The other was a clear rod-shaped organism. I saw a couple of these. They squiggled and had snake-like motion. These could be Nematodes (Roundworms). One was near Plant B. It looked like it was either attaching itself to the plant or it was eating the plant. I saw a series of 3 clear tulip-shaped organisms that were not moving. These were located near the bottom of the MicroAquarium. I think they were single-celled Protozoa--Ciliates--Peritrichs. Another colorless organism I found in my MicroAquarium looked like an insect. It had a small round head attached to a larger rounded body. There was some type of tapered flagella coming off the end of its body. This describes the view from the top. From the side, it looked like a toenail clipping. This creature was seen at the bottom of the aquarium. It moved with a flowing motion. The last little creature I spied was a small oval-shaped organism near the bottom of the aquarium. It moved by squenching its body up.

Overall, I think there is more activity in my MicroAquarium than there was when I first set it up.