First Observation- Oct. 23

I set up my micro-aquarium a little late, after missing the lab class where the term projects were set up.  On Thursday, October 23, I filled a micro-aquarium with water from an aquarium in the greenhouse, put pond scum from the same tank into the bottom of mine, then added moss and an insectivorous plant.  

Then it was back to the lab to put the micro-aquarium under the microscope and start observing!

In the open areas between the plants and the pond scum, I immediately noticed many tiny, clear, round organisms smoothly swimming along.  These can only be identified as "small ciliates" as it would take other, more complex methods of identifying their exact genus.  

Down at the bottom, among the pond scum, I observed a nematode playing among the dirt and such.  It appeared to be consuming the material surrounding it.  As I continued to scan the scum, I saw two more nematodes behaving in similar fashions.  

The last organism I saw was some sort of very small ciliate swimming in the open water.  It's movement is what made it interesting, as it swam in a back and forth, back and forth manner. We were unable to classify it, despite searching through many references for a similar organism.