On Friday October 22, 2010 a Beta Food Pellet was added to the microaquarium and remained near the top and right end. Specifically the food pellet is: "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%.
On Tuesday October 26 I set out to get a better feel for the the populations of different organisms in my microaquarium. I set the microaquarium on the microscope stage and began scanning across it and up and back, etc. until I had a feel for the distribution of organisms in the microaquarium. In the process of scanning I was distracted by a couple things happening in the microaquarium and paused for a closer look. On the bottom I observed a relatively large organism which I have tentatively identified as a seed shrimp. It was foraging in the bottom of the aquarium and moving quickly so it was difficult to keep track of or to get a photograph.
Near the right side of the microaquarium I observed several of the protozoa Coleps sp. feeding on something supported in the plant material. On close observation it appeared to be a dead rotifer but on closer observation I could see that they were feeding on the bacteria that were consuming the rotifer. You can see a video of the Coleps sp. feeding in the video just below this entry. Coleps sp. are distinguished by their scaly appearance and a few small barbs at the rear. Their bodies are composed of about ten cells. (Patterson 1996)
On completing my tour of the microaquarium I observed that there is a population boom in the microaquarium as a result of the addition of the food pellet. There was a halo of organisms around the pellet, mostly relatively small to medium size organisms. The most abundant organism observed was Halteria sp.
Throughout the microaquarium I observed the diatom Pinnularia evenly distributed and in relatively low abundance. Organisms were most abundant at the food pellet and among the plants and near the bottom. The center of the aquarium was relatively barren except for the Pinnularia. The larger organisms, the rotifers, were in the area around the plants and near the bottom generally. The largest organism observed was the seed shrimp foraging on the bottom.
Citation:
Patterson DJ. 1996. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa. London: Manson Publishing, Ltd.
On completing my tour of the microaquarium I observed that there is a population boom in the microaquarium as a result of the addition of the food pellet. There was a halo of organisms around the pellet, mostly relatively small to medium size organisms. The most abundant organism observed was Halteria sp.
Throughout the microaquarium I observed the diatom Pinnularia evenly distributed and in relatively low abundance. Organisms were most abundant at the food pellet and among the plants and near the bottom. The center of the aquarium was relatively barren except for the Pinnularia. The larger organisms, the rotifers, were in the area around the plants and near the bottom generally. The largest organism observed was the seed shrimp foraging on the bottom.
Citation:
Patterson DJ. 1996. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa. London: Manson Publishing, Ltd.
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