Our Ecosystem comes to a Close

This is Desiree's interpretation of our last day with the terrarium. 

The top of our ecosystem is very moist after adding water to its desert like qualities, i.e. drought. The mold doesn't seem to be growing like it has life, but seems to stay the same in furriness and in grayish size.  Though there is condensation that implies that it rains inside, but when it rains it hails, however, it is a terrarium so it won't hail...it's just an expression. Take it to imply that we are breeding death, for still no little green life has arrived.

The water is still pretty clear and allows for keen eyes to see the salt and pepper mold (we have determined that it is mold, because nothing has hatched and we are left with disappointment) has spread like the plaque on the surface of the water and spreading to the elodea. The so called salt and pepper eggs that we have determined are mold are clustered around the string in a mob like formation. Our elodea last week seemed to foreshadow its fall of the fragile staircase, because upon inspection the length of the elodea has detached itself from the roots dooming the plant to a slow and painful death of starvation for it is now unable to get nutrients from its roots.

Water level is 3.8 inches.

Our glimmer of hope and life in our terrarium has been our snails throughout our observations. The three older and larger ones seem to continue to move and climb, but other than that they are snails and aren't up to much in their day to day lives. Just a sparkle that we didn't kill everything. The babies can be seen in the pebbles and they don't seem ready to leave the nest of the purple shelter...for maybe they are doomed to death if they leave.

Observation 5

I come as the bearer of bad news. We have found our elusive crustaceans...they are dead. Two of their bodies flowing peacefully in the water with the rotation of the bottle. Hopefully the afterlife is kinder to our crustaceans than the ruthlessness of our terrarium, for it has been unforgiving. On lighter news, the snails are on different parts of the elodea reaching close to the surface of the water. They seem to be growing in size and moving as actively as a snail can throughout the bottom. Their babies, that were conceived during the first week, seem to be slowly growing and un-burrowing from the depths of the purple peebles. The twisted stairway of the elodea are the snails only chance to rise, but it too seems destined to fail. For near the base the elodea it is turning brownish, black and the leaves are slowly falling off, drifting through the water. Also the top of the elodea that is outside the water is also brown and dying...and on news of more death the leaves all around the spiral staircase are turning brown on the tips.

The water level is slowly declining and standing at a current level of 3.7 inches.

  

We are hopeful that we will have green thumbs and will see life in the top half of our terrarium. For we have contemplated the idea and decided to add 100ml of water in an effort to see life. The soil looks moist and the seeds now have a sliver of a chance for new life. Though technically our 4 spots of fuzzy, gray mold are life they are a constant reminder to the death that has occurred  to our original plants on the top half of our terrarium.

Here are the pictures of the catastrophe, the death and a bit of our hope as we continue our efforts for life within our terrarium.