One Week After Creation

I was surprised at the amount of change that had occurred after just one week. There was a myriad of interesting organisms in my aquarium, and I was able to take some great pictures (though a few creatures were too elusive for my reflexes).

Plant A had the beginnings of moss growing on it.

Plant B was beginning to bud and had a variety of organisms surrounding it, but otherwise had no particularly defining features.

Plenty of one-celled organisms swam about, as did rotifers. The rotifers I observed today were different than the one I found a week ago; these looked like miniature tadpoles. It was interesting to see them swim about the tank and scavenge. They periodically stopped and ate small particles as they went about. Sadly I was not able to take a good picture of any of them.

I saw several Cyclopes in my aquarium, and tried to take a picture of them many times before finally succeeding with this shot.

Cyclops (Rainis and Russell 1996)

In an obscure part of the tank, I happened across an euglena. It was green and spiraled, and had a noticeable flagellum as it slowly moved through the water. This is not a great picture of the organism, but perhaps I will come across it again next week.

Euglena tripteris (Frost 1954)

I found several green colonial organisms. The first of these is a green alga.

Green alga (Frost 1954)

In addition to the alga, I came across what Dr. McFarland identified as an oedogonium.

Oedogonium (Carter-Lund and Lund 1995)

If these were not enough, in another location I came across a zygnema. It appeared to me that these were somehow hypertonic algae, but the chloroplasts of zygnema cells tend to give them an odd, shriveled shape.

Zygnema (Frost 1954)

I also found a desmid.

Closterium (Frost 1954)

Carter-Lund, H and Lund, JWG. 1995. Freshwater Algae: Their Microscopic World Exposed. Bristol (England): Biopress Ltd, p. 64 figure 102.

Frost, HS. 1954. Handbook of Algae, with special reference to Tennessee and the Southeastern United States. Knoxville (TN): University of Tennessee Press. p 198, and figures 219 & 401.

Rainis, KG and Russell, BJ. 1996. Guide to Microlife. Danbury (CT): Franklin Watts, p. 204.