Briana Sproles

Lab Blog 1

Setting Up Aquarium

 To begin with creating my aquarium, I placed my initials on blue and yellow stickers that indicated my table number and the place in which I sat at the table. I placed these stickers on the side of my aquarium. With these things aside, I could start filling it. Using a syringe, I sucked up water and sand from the bottom of the sample of a water source from Carter Mill Park at a spring source and squeezed it into the opening of my aquarium (McFarland, 2013). I did so until the aquarium was about half of the way full. I then proceeded to take a small amount of water from the surface of the water source and add it to the aquarium to fill it about 75% of the way up. After inserting the water, I collected small segments of the Fontinalis species of moss, which was originally collected from the Holston River (Fig. 1). I then collected small segments of the Utricularia Gibba species of flowering plant and arranged both of the plant species inside of the aquarium (Fig. 2). Once my aquarium was finished, I placed it under the microscope and looked for organisms inside of it (Fig. 3). I came across a Rotifer. This was the first time I had ever seen anything like this so it was really exciting!

Fig. 1: Fontinalis sp. Moss

Fig. 2: Utricularia Gibba

Fig. 3: Aquarium Life Observation