Observation 4 - Nov. 13, 2012

This week, my microaquarium had far less activity than in the previous weeks.  Most of the organisms were in the bottom of the aquarium, and while they were slower moving, I could identify none that were dead; a lot of unidentified matter had collected at the bottom.  The numerous organisms identified last week as "planaria" were identified this week as spirostomia (not planaria) and they made up the bulk of the organisms found at the bottom of the tank.  Cyclidia and spirostomia are the most numerous organisms.  I saw no planaria this week, but did see amoebas, cyclidia, spirostomia, waterfleas, and the annelid "Chaetogaster" (Rainis and Russell) from last week.  One organism was visible to the naked eye, but not clearly enough to be identified.  The plants appear to have been eaten away, and only a few sprigs of both are left.  The aquarium was most active at the bottom, rather than the middle, as always before, and the overall movement of the organisms was slower.  No new organisms were identified.  It is my opinion that the aquarium will not be able to sustain itself much longer without additional nutrients and plants.

The above picture shows a portion of the body of the annelid "Chaetogaster."  I was unable to get a better picture because it was weaving in and out of the debris at the bottom of the tank.