Microscopic Bugs, Worms, and Worms Pooping!

ItsAName

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I have an explosion of "bugs" in my refugium. I guess they are copepods, but can you help me identify them? Also, I have a bunch of worms growing in my refugium too, which I posted here. No idea what they are. I also caught a video of the worm pooping under the microscope. (at least I think it's pooping, it looks cool, tell me if we're witnessing something else!) The worm is probably about an inch long. The other creature is maybe 2-3mm.

Part 1

The "bug" that is exploding in my refugium

1. Entire Body

thing4_entire.jpg

2. Entire body of just the legs

thing5_entire.jpg

3. Another angle of the entire body

thing1.jpg

4. It's head

thing2_head.jpg

5. It's butt

thing3_butt.jpg

Part 2

Here's some pictures of the worm and a video link too

1. It's head?

worm3_head.jpg

2. Butt pic 1

worm1_differentexposure.jpg

3. Butt pic 2

worm1.jpg

4. Body Section

worm2_body.jpg

5. Tiny Astronaut space man riding the worm?

worm4_rider.jpg

6. Worm pooping?

 
First of all, amazing microscopic photography!
Next point, that’s just part of your microfauna developing...
They’ve been getting groovy.
As far as I can tell, they’re beneficial microherds...
But let’s get @saltyfilmfolks

Thank you for the compliment. The hardest part was capturing them :)
 
That first guy looks like some form of isopod. Some are parasitic on fish, many are harmless detritivores. It's a cousin of the roly-polies in your garden.

Worm may be a Dorvillid (sp?), which are pretty harmless.

"Spaceman" on the worm is a copepod.

~Bruce

P.S. - Straight awesome micrography!
 
That first guy looks like some form of isopod. Some are parasitic on fish, many are harmless detritivores. It's a cousin of the roly-polies in your garden.
!

I must have 3-5 thousand of those guys in my refugium. How can I find out if it's parasitic to fish? They havent made it to the DT yet.

Thanks
 
Research ... alas, I don't have any comprehensive resources for isopod identification handy, nor have I seen this short stout fellow before. It's not the common munnid isopod we see often, nor the sand-skater, nor (fortunately!) does it look like the big parasitic cirolanid isopod. I would guess that unless they're getting fairly large, they'll do little to no harm, and your fish (are you _sure_ they haven't gotten into your display?) will happily snap them up as quickly as they appear.

~Bruce
 
Thank you, makes sense. They may have made it to the DT, but haven't seen them yet. I'll do some research and see what I can find
 

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