I raised some salamander larvae in this 55 gallon tank with maybe 1-2 snails, some fingernail clams, and I’m sure a couple other small organisms. After the larvae were ready to move out I just left the tank without the filter running in hopes to maybe move my red Eft there once it was ready. A few weeks later I came to find that I now have hundreds of baby snails, some daphnia, cyclops and this thing… for the love of everything almighty I can’t find out what it is! It is attached to the substrate and not on the glass. Please help.
Posted by Significant-Gur-4814
1 Comment
Hello, mod from r/microscopy here!
The specific species will be impossible to tell from this magnification, but this is actually a microorganism/micro-animal!
Due to reddit’s downscaling, I have two possible identifications:
– 1.) Rotifer colony: some Rotifers will [group together and filter-feed](https://youtu.be/0qikdXEebMk?si=gO4SY5Eq1zHMQZDz) (in-depth video linked). Rotifers are micro-animals, and they’re incredibly interesting creatures. [Here is a video that shows them at lower-magnification](https://youtu.be/TvcPxDi0aIw?si=7Pv69etk77BXeI8i).
– 2.) A colony of sessile peritrich ciliates: there are a few particular colonies that they could be (namely Collocotheca or the more common [Vorticella](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorticella)). They are able to contract their stalks when disturbed, which pulls the cells back at incredible speed, in order to avoid danger (similar to why rotifers retract).
If I were to hedge a bet based on size and colony morphology, I would anticipate these to be colonial Rotifers.
Both options are filter feeders, so they feed on smaller material in the water column 🙂