Day 13. Tues Oct 25, 2011

Figure 1. Philodina (Smith 2001, Fig. 7.11).

It has been 13 days sense I last saw my aquarium. One food pellet was added on the 21st (The food pellet information is listed below). At first, I didn't see much of anything in my aquarium. Not even anything near the food pellet. Once I got closer to the sediment I began to see a few organisms. Most of them were too small for me to identify, but one organism was very obvious. I identified it as Philodina, which is a Rotifer. Rotifers are omnivores, meaning they eat virtually anything (Smith 2001). This organism was very interesting. For a while it stayed in the same spot and kept moving its jaws back and forth like it was chomping on something, but then suddenly swam away. I tried to follow it with the microscope but I couldn't keep up, and I never found it again.

Figure 2. Philodina's movement (Smith 2001, Fig. 7.11).

Sources:
Smith, D.G. 2001. Pennak's Freshwater Invertebrates: Porifera to Crustacea. 4th ed. Canada: John Wiley and Sons. 139 p. Fig. 7.11.

Beta Food Ingredients: "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%