In my microaquarium this past week I noticed a much larger variety of species. The plants in my microaquarium are starting to be over run by some sort of algae. Looking at this algae spot in the microscope you can see a wide variety of organisms feeding on the algae. I observed a multitude of "cyclops" organisms, several being really young and others being fully grown. A cyclops is a crustacean, which as you can tell by looking at one is related to lobsters and shrimp (Microbus). Floating just above the algae spots was a Turbellaria, or a type of flatworm (Pennack). Dr. McFarland didn't have an exact ID for this organism. In the dirt of my microaquarium, I saw a lot of burrowing cyclops', and also a "midge" or an insect larvae. A midge is an insect that somewhat resembles a mosquito, however they do not bite and are virtually harmless (Britannica). I also observed an amoeba. An amoeba is a type of protozoa. All of the organisms except for the amoeba were constantly eating. Nothing at all happened with the amoeba, I could see it moving at times, but that was all there was to be observed.
Freshwater Invertebrates. Robert Pennack. Third Edition.
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