Week 3

Observations
The main sight to see in my MicroAquarium during Week 3's observations was a rather large annelid. This annelid had a bovine aura as it sluggishly weaved its way along the bottom of the aquarium. It is clear with a thick front torso, and the body shape thins towards the back. The second sighting of this annelid was near the broad-leafed plant. Here it encountered anther organism and contracted its body; when it contracts, its body clamps, causing its head to look inflated. In addition to this annelid, I also spotted one more which was much thinner. It was nestled below the soil, actively taking in soil particles. I could literally see the digestion as the soil traveled through the annelid's clear-skinned body (http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/).
The most prominent creatures in the MicroAquarium were the seed shrimps. I spotted at least five to six seed shrimps in the soil, actively breaking it down--and some even regurgitating the previously swallowed soil particles. At one point I was confident that I had spotted an inactive seed shrimp in the gap between the soil layer on the bottom, but ten minutes later I revisited this distinct spot and found nothing. So either the seed shrimp was actually feigning death or the dead seed shrimp was consumed by another organism. The mystery remains. Below is an image of one of the many seed shrimps:

Miscellaneous sightings include a dark grayish-black oval pacman-like creature with hair. A couple of these creatures were either in the soil or at the base of the plants. I also spotted a few of the raindrop-shaped gray organisms and a frantically moving tiny stretchy stick-like organism near the base of a plant.
Activity is still relatively inactive or rare above the soil. I observed miniscule sightings of organisms around the plants, but no significant movement (somewhat negative compared to last week's observations). I specifically saw two seed snails and one worm along the stem of Plant B.
On Friday, October 22, 2010, one Beta Food Pellet was inserted into this 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%. (Information from Mr. Ken McFarland)

Bibliography
Pond Life Identification Kit [Internet]. [updated 2000 Nov]. Microscopy-UK; [cited 2010 Oct 22]. Available from <http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/>