We have baby Georges'!!!!! There are two of them and they look exactly like George only a smaller version. They're cute!

But other than this find the poor Kingdom is in it's demise. The algae is starting to take over and consume the plants. The plants are starting to decompose and die. My poor Kingdom. The algal blooms are actually pretty though. So that's nice to look at. They are a small pinkish flower called hildenerandia.

I believe the growth of algae correlates with the loss of water in the tank. The water level has become extremely low. But on the up side we can now see all the movement in a secluded area in the bottom of the tank. There the little animals are living and I don't have to go searching all over the tank to see someone. They are all down there now.

The poor Kingdom of M.A. was fun while it lasted. But like the saying going....everything must come to an end. :(

Well it seems that the end is coming near for the Kingdom of M.A.

But the one good thing is that George is back!!!! :)

Everything seems to be in the process of dying...the plants are turning brown, the inhabitants seem to be less active and algae is taking over the sides and bottom of the tank. All the pods on my flowering plant are starting to open and turn black and algae seems to be taking over this plant. The flower on the plant is completely dead. But it is a good new home for George who seems to be spending most of his time there. The dirt at the bottom of the tank seems to be breaking down and the dirt is decomposing.

The one thing that seems to be the same though is all the worms are still active and squirming around. They aren't really worms, they're paramecium and dugesia. Paramecium are clear and look like little tiny worms. And the dugesia are flatworms that have eyes. They're really cute! These worms seem to be enjoying all the new materials being released by the dying substances.

Ok, the Kingdom is in full swing!

There is so much movement and activity it is amazing! :) My little creatures are just buzzing and zipping around. A little community that is working together and making their habit their own.

The crystal "brains" (or the pods) on the plant are completely full of "bugs" and they're like the homes of the land. Each one seems to be their own little country and have a development and houses in each. Which means they'll probably be black soon since each pod is only good for so long. Then they have met their quota and they die and are useless to the inhabitants.

George has been MIA, he's probably mad at me for following him so much last time. He is camera shy. But i'll keep my eye out for the little guy next time.

The new Kingdom!

OkEy DoKeY...the Kingdom of M.A. seems to be in full swing! :)

When i obsevered it yesterday it was so alive. There were little "animals" buzzing and zooming around just doing their own thing. It was like a little community. I'm glad they're all getting along so well and working off each other. It seems like the stringy-flower plant has much more movement than the long leafy one. The flower plant also have clear pods on them. The pods are gorgeous, they look like brains made out of stained glass, and they are just full of micro organisms bursting with energy.

I also have a little guy in the Kingdom that looks like a little mite, but it's a seed shrimp. I named him George. George doesn't like to be out in the limelight very much so you have to look really hard in the dirt at the bottom of the aquarium to find the little bugger. George is classified as a ostracod, and he gets his name, seed shrimp, from the fact that he looks like a little seed roaming around. He's encased in two opague shells, and has clocklike inner workings. He eats by microfiltering the water for protists, molds, and other microbial delicacies. He likes the bottom of the aquarium because that's where his kind is comfortable. They like to burrow in decaying vegetation, rooted aquatic plants, and soils and sands. He's a cutie! :)

The completion of M.A.

I successfully completed the set-up of the Kingdom of M.A.



It went really well in my opinion. I first started by using the water #13. Water #13 is the water from the birdbath, which you can see to the left. It was very interesting to see all the organisms scurrying around in the water and the layer of dirt. Then i added two different types of plants on either side of the habitat. One plant had a flower attached to it. The flower seemed to attracted a lot of attention from different organisms in the water.

When I observed my new little habitat i saw many different things and organisms. I saw these little "bugs" zooming around that I identified as ciliate. Ciliate is a type of flatworm type animal I guess you would call it, and they kinda look like a clear ammeba. I also saw multi-colored algae and these organisms that looked like clear little balls floating around.

It seems kinda boring so far since everyone is getting used to their new home...but I'll keep you posted on the new movements and observations! :)