Our tank's biology up close

I thought I found an amoeba looking at the shape... until I saw it moving... awesome fine

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0065 by Jason, on Flickr

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0066 by Jason, on Flickr

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0067 by Jason, on Flickr

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0068 by Jason, on Flickr

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0069 by Jason, on Flickr

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0070 by Jason, on Flickr

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0071 by Jason, on Flickr

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0072 by Jason, on Flickr
 
Then it just stopped moving... And turns out it was covered in bacteria. Either it was dyeing and the bacteria was feasting or it died because of the bacteria. But the bacteria after the ciliate stopped moving started moving on.

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0085 by Jason, on Flickr

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0086 by Jason, on Flickr


Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0087 by Jason, on Flickr

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0088 by Jason, on Flickr

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0089 by Jason, on Flickr



I stepped away and came about about 30 minutes later... Seemed to be not much left of the ciliate and more bacteria was wondering off still.

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0090 by Jason, on Flickr

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0091 by Jason, on Flickr

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0092 by Jason, on Flickr

Sandbed_3in_down_09302018-0093 by Jason, on Flickr
 
I should be able to identify the larger creature, maybe an isopod, but I can't. Is 0045 some kind of worm? I am not sure of the scale.

The ciliate and bacteria sequence was very interesting.

Thanks for the images and videos!
 
bertoni said:
I should be able to identify the larger creature, maybe an isopod, but I can't. Is 0045 some kind of worm? I am not sure of the scale.

The ciliate and bacteria sequence was very interesting.

Thanks for the images and videos!
Click to expand...
I wasn't sure what to expect for pods. I didn't find any alive. Lots of ostrocod shells however. They must stay in the top couple inches. I did expect a lot more nematode worms but only found one alive.

Seems like by about 3" down in at least a deeper sand bed and at least in that sample bacteria really starts to reign. Lots of detritus was expected as I do not vacuum or clean the sand bed myself.

Wasn't nearly as many ciliates as I expected either. Only found a few and that one at the end I wonder if the bacteria was the root cause of death or just a symptom. They quickly started to disperse soon after movement stopped.

0045 was the only really healthy cyanobacteria strain I found. Only saw a few others and as seen in another pucture/video were quite clear.
 
The pictures and video of the ciliate were very interesting. I assume that it was the same one? The yellow was the bacteria, I think?

As you can tell from my question about 0045, I clearly can't identify much. :)
 
Questions are always good. The pictures and video are the same. 20 and 40x objectives were used. I first saw it and noticed it had an odd "coating" of some kind. The darkfield really made that stand out as the greenish yellow specks. After the ciliate stopped moving is when I realized it was bacteria as they started drifting off.
 
it's what got me hooked

it's what got me hooked

microscope and dissecting lead me to be an Environmental Science Major:celeb3:
 
That's awesome.

I'm hopefully close to done with some major work projects that has lasted over 2 years now. Will still have tons of work but it will not be like what I've been through. Another month or so. Hopefully be back to posting more and using the microscope more.
 
This is truly fascinating! I'm impressed on one hand, and terrified on the other lol. Some of those critters look awfully nasty! But the entire thing is pretty cool.
 
wilsonreefs said:
This is truly fascinating! I'm impressed on one hand, and terrified on the other lol. Some of those critters look awfully nasty! But the entire thing is pretty cool.
Click to expand...

Oh, just wait for this new creepy crawly that I'm currently uploading. Very cool and scary looking. IF this thread doesn't make you go wash your hands every time you put them in your tank I don't know what else will. :beachbum:
 
bertoni said:
Interesting. Do you know the approximate size of the worm?
Click to expand...

It was rather large. I could see it as a tiny strand on the slide. I'd say around 1mm to 2mm in length. In a couple videos it was visited by an ostracod and a copepod with eggs which were smaller in comparison. The above picures were 10x and 20x with the picture of the ostracod at 20x.
 
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