Curious as to what this is

[Reef Stu]

This little guy is lightning fast, and has two relatively large front claws.

 

[Dsnakes]

Looks like an amphipod

 

[Reef Stu]

It does not have a humpback like an amphipod. They only seem to get up two 1/8 of an inch in length, and only a millimeter wide. They have a straight skinny body and the two large front claws are visible with the naked eye. They kind of remind me of super tiny mantis shrimp, but they obviously not. They also swim so quickly I would say they are faster then amphipods.

 

[Reef Stu]

 

[Antegon]

Does it look like this?

 

[Reef Stu]

That is a poor, zoomed in picture from my smartphone. Not the best representation. I only posted it to show the length and width in proportion to its own body. The pic at the top is under a microscope. These little guys seem to love Phytoplankton.

 

[Reef Stu]

Does it look like this?

I just saw your pictures in your post. I think we have the same creature. Let me know if you get a better response then the generic copepod answer. [emoji1303]

 

[Antegon]

It does not have a humpback like an amphipod. They only seem to get up two 1/8 of an inch in length, and only a millimeter wide. They have a straight skinny body and the two large front claws are visible with the naked eye. They kind of remind me of super tiny mantis shrimp, but they obviously not. They also swim so quickly I would say they are faster then amphipods.

I’m ignorant to the look of either creature irl, but that written description is spot on for what I’ve got

 

[Antegon]

I know online pictures can be off base, but most of the pods, co and an, don’t seem to look like these little guys.

I dunno if that dirt pile pic I sent would have anything to do with this?

Also, I can’t keep snails alive and have heard the clicking once before, dunno if it’s a mantis or what, but it’s a possibility. Have you had any of that? Maybe it’s some fry of some shrimp or something?

 

[Reef Stu]

I know online pictures can be off base, but most of the pods, co and an, don’t seem to look like these little guys.

I dunno if that dirt pile pic I sent would have anything to do with this?

Also, I can’t keep snails alive and have heard the clicking once before, dunno if it’s a mantis or what, but it’s a possibility. Have you had any of that? Maybe it’s some fry of some shrimp or something?

I agree no online pictures seems to match... But I do think it’s some variation of Isopod.

 

[Kevin D]

Looks like a baby mantis shrimp to me.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

This little guy is lightning fast, and has two relatively large front claws.

Can you take a picture with your phone so I can see the colors it has?

 

[Antegon]

Mine look white, slightly translucent. They show blue in my pics but that’s because this iphone6 camera can’t handle a little LED lol

 

[Antegon]

Looks like a baby mantis shrimp to me.

I definitely see the resemblance, but these little things don’t seem as ... shrimpy? Shrimp-esk? I dunno. They haven’t swarmed anything or killed anything or anything yet lol. Fish are not interested in eating them at all, which I would have thought they would have if they were pods, but i don’t know if that’s true

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

It is in the amphipoda family most definitely. I would like to see it has any colors on it or is it just all brown.