memorywrangler Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 They have are pin-head sized (.32mm) and they just appeared in large numbers on the walls of several of my tanks. They seem stationary, but their insides move some under the microscope. Can anyone ID them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 cc @Biotope Biologist @modified lung any idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 Looks like water lice maybe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 I don’t know.. the photos don’t show legs. @Guppysnail, ever seen these? She seems to have a lot of miscellaneous knowledge about microfauna. Tagging @dasaltemelosguy just because he has a microscope 🤷🏻♀️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 (edited) On 3/7/2023 at 9:06 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said: I don’t know.. the photos don’t show legs. @Guppysnail, ever seen these? She seems to have a lot of miscellaneous knowledge about microfauna. Tagging @dasaltemelosguy just because he has a microscope 🤷🏻♀️ The first photo looks sort of something like a fish louse. I have never seen one in Person though so that is a total guess. @Biotope Biologist @modified lung @Colu Edited March 8, 2023 by Guppysnail 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 (edited) On 3/8/2023 at 2:10 AM, Guppysnail said: The first photo looks sort of something like a fish louse. I have never seen one in Person though so that is a total guess. @Biotope Biologist @modified lung @Colu I don't think that a fish louse it doesn't have the legs and you don't usually get them in large numbers on the glass of your aquarium it looks familiar but a can't place it hopefully someone else can give a positive ID Edited March 8, 2023 by Colu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 You may want to scroll through here. There are fabulous microscope shots of many tiny aquarium critters. You might find your. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 Looks like an amorphous blob to me 😋 It kinda looks like a rotifer but I’m not super well versed in limnology so I’m not entirely sure. Even if it is a rotifer there are something like 2000 species so that doesn’t narrow it down much. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memorywrangler Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 I got some better pictures. I put a microscope slide in the aquarium for a couple weeks so I could look at one without scraping it off the glass. It looks like the the things on the glass are eggs. You can see the embryo moving in the gif. But eggs of what? I also found an adult something. I'm not sure if they are related. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 Definitely doesn’t look like a fish louse but does appear to be some kind of microcrustacean. Seems likely to be fish food if the right fish comes along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfisher Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 I think it’s a Copepod. It so you would not want to get rid of them. Most are beneficial to your aquarium. They are detritivores, so it is beneficial to have them in the aquarium as part of the tank’s ecosystem. Copepods are also make a great snack for small fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 2nd photo is a water mite. Still have no clue as to what your amorphous blobs are beautiful pictures though! maybe @modified lung has come across them? They do look like eggs of some sort of thing. It kinda appears the egg is upside down and the butt is moving while the grey blob at the bottom is the head. I can make out antennae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modified lung Posted April 2, 2023 Share Posted April 2, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 4:47 PM, Biotope Biologist said: They do look like eggs of some sort of thing. It kinda appears the egg is upside down and the butt is moving while the grey blob at the bottom is the head. I can make out antennae. It looks like an egg to me as well. I thought the opposite though. The head at the top with some moving mouth parts and grey blob butt. I haven't come across anything like it here though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now