Microscopic Bugs, Worms, and Worms Pooping!

[ItsAName]

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



2. Entire body of just the legs



3. Another angle of the entire body



4. It's head



5. It's butt



Part 2

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

1. It's head?



2. Butt pic 1



3. Butt pic 2



4. Body Section



5. Tiny Astronaut space man riding the worm?



6. Worm pooping?

 

[ChiCity]

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

 

[K. Steven]

Part 1.3 looks like a nauplius of some kind.

 

[ItsAName]

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

 

[Maritimer]

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!

 

[ItsAName]

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

 

[Maritimer]

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

 

[ItsAName]

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