04/14/15
The stems of the plants, where they used to be either bright green or light green, are now browning where the leaves are beginning to boom. Now I can see one or two leaves on the ground, where they are dark and shriveled up. I'm pretty sure this means that they have fallen a day or two ago because even though they are clearly no longer vibrant green they are not very brown yet. The big, top leaves are still plastered to the side of the bottle. I think that the moisture has made these leaves stick instead of falling to the ground.
The aquarium part of the the terrarium is very cloudy. The plants have grown to the point where it's impossible to see past them on the bottom half of the bottle. The strings are beginning to grow black.
The weight his week is: 1kg 403g.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Post-Mortem
The plants in the top bottle look similar to the week before. The three plants are still standing, but their leaves are extreme soggy and stuck to the sides of the bottle. One leaf in particular is obviously dead and transparent, just an outline against the bottle. Another leaf has shriveled up into a black husk; it is now hanging by dying threads. One of the plant's stem has a tinge of dark brown, but otherwise the parts of the plants that are not touching the bottle look very healthy. Each stem has small leaves that look relatively healthy, and the ones that do not look very healthy only have a small piece of black or brown. I do not remember seeing these small leaves the week before, which means that the plants are still growing long after the leaves started to decompose.
In the bottom bottle the water is mrs cloudy than the week before, and once again I think this is because the animals in here have died. Both plants seem to have grown because they cover a vast majority of my line of sight when I try to get a good luck of the bottom terrarium.
Weight is 1 kg 409.3 grams.
In the bottom bottle the water is mrs cloudy than the week before, and once again I think this is because the animals in here have died. Both plants seem to have grown because they cover a vast majority of my line of sight when I try to get a good luck of the bottom terrarium.
Weight is 1 kg 409.3 grams.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
The Last Observation
The water is still as murky as in our last observation. It's faint dark gold/brown color that is mostly caused by the soil deposits from the top bottle. The ends of the strings that connects both terrariums is lined with black, which I think is mold cause by the strings being submerged too long.
In the top portion of the terrarium our dying leaves are holding on by a thread. Instead of being thick and green as in previous observers they are extremely thin and limp, with brown coating the edges and some of the inside. On the dirt we see the shriveled remains of the shriveled seed shells. At the edges I can see some small, black things that may be mold.
Our fish's corpse is still tangled in the plants, and the fact that it's body is intact despite being dead for a while tells me that the snails are also dead; otherwise the dead fish would have served as food.
Weight: 411grams
In the top portion of the terrarium our dying leaves are holding on by a thread. Instead of being thick and green as in previous observers they are extremely thin and limp, with brown coating the edges and some of the inside. On the dirt we see the shriveled remains of the shriveled seed shells. At the edges I can see some small, black things that may be mold.
Our fish's corpse is still tangled in the plants, and the fact that it's body is intact despite being dead for a while tells me that the snails are also dead; otherwise the dead fish would have served as food.
Weight: 411grams
Black mold on strings, possibly.
This might be mold at the edge of the dirt terrarium.
The leaves have brown on its edge or within its body.
Monday, March 30, 2015
On a Somber Note
It's sad to say our guppy didn't make it to see April. I found him tangled among the moss, dead-eyed and listless. Since he seems extremely pale and gray I'm guessing he's been dead for at least a day or two. The cause of death may have been the very murky water because when he was alive the water was extremely clear.
Here we find our two snails. Now more than ever I believe that one had been alive because in a previous blog entry I had documented him tangled among the moss. In another occasion he was on the opposite side of the battle in comparison to his brother. However now one can see that the left shelf contains nothing (of it does contain something it's very hard to see)
Not only is the water very murky but the moss and the aladia seem to have grown a lot from the last time I saw the ecosystem. Before I could see clear to the other side, but now all I see are leaves and green. This is why I found our guppy's corpse tangled among the plants instead of lying on the floor of the bottle.
Our plants have withered, and the leaves seem ready to fall. They seem drenched in water, their leaves extremely limp and darkening at the edges. They look like they will fall very soon.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Week 6: More Pictures
On the upper bottle each plant seems to have at least three leaves. There is still a bean shell remnant stuck to the wall.
Our guppy is still alive. He seems longer, and I can observe him eat something off the string that a drops off the bottle cap and into the water. I'm pretty sure this is where he gets his nourishment from, but what he is feeding on and is anyone's guess. I'm there they are root bits that seeped into the string. The guppy also seems to feed off something from the rocks.
One of our snails ended up on top of the aladia. I'm not sure if it floated up or if it's actually alive. The other snail is still close to one of the edges of the bottle, so I'm assuming the one on top of the aladia is alive.
Our guppy is still alive. He seems longer, and I can observe him eat something off the string that a drops off the bottle cap and into the water. I'm pretty sure this is where he gets his nourishment from, but what he is feeding on and is anyone's guess. I'm there they are root bits that seeped into the string. The guppy also seems to feed off something from the rocks.
One of our snails ended up on top of the aladia. I'm not sure if it floated up or if it's actually alive. The other snail is still close to one of the edges of the bottle, so I'm assuming the one on top of the aladia is alive.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Week 4: All Seems Calm
The guppy seems to be bigger now. When I looked close to the bottle I can see his eyes on either side of his face. I can also see him chew minuscule pieces of plant. From an objective point he seems to swim fast and seems to be healthy. When he seems I can clearly see his frontal fins moving, which means they are big enough to see now.
The plants in the terrestrial part seems to be healthy. There is only condensation on one side of the bottle. Each bean plant seems to have grown one additional leaf aside from the big one they had before.
The plants in the water seem to have grown. At first glance they seem to take up more space than before, and they certainly seemed to take up more space than other water plants in other terrariums. The aladea and the algae have grown. The water looks rather clean, and I can see the guppy and the snails very well. My assumption is that at least one snail is alive because they were at opposite sides last week and now one of them is very close to the other snail. However looking at it neither of the snails are moving.
This time the terrarium weighed 1 kg 456.5 grams, which is lighter than before.
The plants in the terrestrial part seems to be healthy. There is only condensation on one side of the bottle. Each bean plant seems to have grown one additional leaf aside from the big one they had before.
The plants in the water seem to have grown. At first glance they seem to take up more space than before, and they certainly seemed to take up more space than other water plants in other terrariums. The aladea and the algae have grown. The water looks rather clean, and I can see the guppy and the snails very well. My assumption is that at least one snail is alive because they were at opposite sides last week and now one of them is very close to the other snail. However looking at it neither of the snails are moving.
This time the terrarium weighed 1 kg 456.5 grams, which is lighter than before.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Week 3 Life in the Dark
Week 3: Life in the Dark
Our plants have grown exponentially. The shoots have now hit
the top of the bottle, into the ridges of the bottle. Our bean plants, all
three of them, have grown leaves. Each plant has one leaf, which are very
green. One of the bean shells is plastered on the top of the bottle while the
other rests at the bottle. The third plant still has its shell attached, but
very loosely. The soil looks moist. The coloring is a dark brown.
There’s still quite a bit of condensation at this top level.
In the bottom bottle the water level looks the same with the
strings attaching the top bottle to the bottom bottle looking more yellowish.
Our guppy is still alive and swims at the middle of the water level. However he
looks less active than before. I feel his swimming is more forlorn. Guppy also
looks about the same size; it doesn’t look like he’s gotten bigger.
On one side our snail is nestled in one of the ridges of the
bottom bottle. It doesn’t seem like he’s moving, but I believe he’s still
alive. On the other side we have the second snail nestled into one of the
ridges of the bottle. Again this one isn’t moving. Right now it’s a toss up on
whether they are actually alive. We did not see the tails of our dead shrimp,
so we believe that the snails finished eating them.
The weight of out terrarium is 1 kg 461 grams.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Week 2 - Spoiler Alert! Death Count Begins
Week 2 was both a sad and joyous occasion. All three of our seeds sprouted with one big enough to touch the inside of the bottle. The other two are just emerging from the soil. The condensation in the inside our bottle indicates that we are getting circulation of water. I foresee good things in the future of these plants. I hope all of them get good sunlight in the upcoming weeks.
In the aquatic section both ghost shrimp have died; their tails are floating at the bottom of the tank. The snails are not moving right now and are at the bottom with the rocks. We are assuming that these snails are the culprits of the shrimps' deaths because I've been reading that ghost shrimp may eat fish babies, not the other way around.
The guppy himself is doing fabulously. He's swimming more than first day, where we sealed him to his fate, and seems a bit plumper. It seems he has a good amount of food to keep him alive.
1 kilogram 478 grams is the weight of our ecosystem. In my opinion (hypothesis) the ecosystem will grow heavier as time goes on. The plants are expected to grow more. The water plants may also grow. The guppy himself will grow some.
In the aquatic section both ghost shrimp have died; their tails are floating at the bottom of the tank. The snails are not moving right now and are at the bottom with the rocks. We are assuming that these snails are the culprits of the shrimps' deaths because I've been reading that ghost shrimp may eat fish babies, not the other way around.
The guppy himself is doing fabulously. He's swimming more than first day, where we sealed him to his fate, and seems a bit plumper. It seems he has a good amount of food to keep him alive.
1 kilogram 478 grams is the weight of our ecosystem. In my opinion (hypothesis) the ecosystem will grow heavier as time goes on. The plants are expected to grow more. The water plants may also grow. The guppy himself will grow some.
Our plants are growing! The harvest begins!
Hi, guppy!
One dead shrimp, with the other somewhere close by.
And there's one snail. Hopefully alive.
"Until next time!"
Day 1 - And So a World was Born
Day 1
The actual construction of the ecosystem was more complicated than I first thought. It was the first time I created life within a bottle. I was apprehensive in cutting the bottles because I knew it was crucial that they fit together after all was said and done.
The guppy (1) was smaller than I thought. After a minute or two of being in the ecosystem it was zipping through the algae, which made it very hard to take pictures.
I have never seen ghost shrimp before. They (2) were certainly smaller than the ones I've used as bait on fishing trips. They were translucent and looked terribly fragile. I'm curious to see how much they will actually grow and how hardly they are compared to the tougher-looking guppy and snails.
The snails (2) were tiny, and I was afraid that they would not move once we dropped them in. However they soon adapted to the rocky-bottle floor. They did not seem to bump into the shrimp that were near the edges of the bottle. These snails had differently-shaped shells than the garden snails I've been used to seeing as a child. This was also the first time I've seen snails that lived in the water.
On the upper portion of the ecosystem we planted (3) pea seeds in the soil. We planted them in a triangle shape, about an inch deep, and we hope to see some growth soon.
The actual construction of the ecosystem was more complicated than I first thought. It was the first time I created life within a bottle. I was apprehensive in cutting the bottles because I knew it was crucial that they fit together after all was said and done.
The guppy (1) was smaller than I thought. After a minute or two of being in the ecosystem it was zipping through the algae, which made it very hard to take pictures.
I have never seen ghost shrimp before. They (2) were certainly smaller than the ones I've used as bait on fishing trips. They were translucent and looked terribly fragile. I'm curious to see how much they will actually grow and how hardly they are compared to the tougher-looking guppy and snails.
The snails (2) were tiny, and I was afraid that they would not move once we dropped them in. However they soon adapted to the rocky-bottle floor. They did not seem to bump into the shrimp that were near the edges of the bottle. These snails had differently-shaped shells than the garden snails I've been used to seeing as a child. This was also the first time I've seen snails that lived in the water.
On the upper portion of the ecosystem we planted (3) pea seeds in the soil. We planted them in a triangle shape, about an inch deep, and we hope to see some growth soon.
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