# Microfauna, up close and personal



## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

Tonight I took some pictures of microfauna in my tank with high magnification. This is an incomplete survey, as there were at least twice as many species easily visible but this is what I had time to photograph tonight. I would love it if anyone else can add original microfauna to this thread. Here goes...

These little gold springtails are the most abundant bugs in my tank, and also the primary food source for my frogs. They are throughout the substrate, on the glass and on the driftwood.

















On this last one, you can see the furcula under its abdomen, which is what lets them spring, hence the name.










I introduced amphipods from soil outside my grandmother's house in Braidenton, FL. I assume these are immature offspring. They are crustaceans, like isopods, but can jump with their tail, like springtails.
Side View









Top View









Close-up of the head










It was hard to get a good photo of this clear mite.









I found this red mite,


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## leveldrummer (May 30, 2008)

wow! that must be one hell of a macro lens!!


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## dom (Sep 23, 2007)

nice shots!


damn northerners its spelled bradenton!! sorry but i lived there most my life! :lol:


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## somecanadianguy (Jan 9, 2007)

cool pics , quite a neat collection of stuff for the darts to eat
craig


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## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

I wasn't sure if they took off, but the white woodlice (Trichorhina tomentosa, I believe) seem to be growing better in my viv than in my petri dish. I've been seeing a lot of them lately. I hope they provide the frogs with some extra calcium.

From above









And from below.


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## rozdaboff (Feb 27, 2005)

I have seen the same with the DWW - they are slow to culture - but in tanks they can explode.

Great shots.


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## Brian Ferriera (Nov 1, 2006)

I have this weird obsession with wanting to keep different spring tails...can I ask where one gets gold springtails??
Brian


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## rozdaboff (Feb 27, 2005)

The "gold" springtails have a very similar "bullet" body style to the silver springtails that are currently circulating in the hobby. I wonder if they are something slightly different, but related - or if the "gold" color is an effect of the reflection of the light source.


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## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

The "gold" springs appeared in my tank and they could very well be the same as silver ones. They appear brown when on the driftwood, but they look blue/gray from underneath when they are crawling on glass. I saw some interesting ones they other day, with small head and large round body. They jumped out of my petri dish when I added acetone to slow them down, so no photo yet.


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## Brian Ferriera (Nov 1, 2006)

LOl ok they sound like the silvers then and I have them..its wired to get excited about springtails i now but i am "different" :mrgreen: 
Brian


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## Otis (Apr 16, 2006)

great shots!


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## Frognut (Jan 31, 2005)

Just wondering about the amphipods, as I have seen a few here in SC. are you culturing them or are they reproducing in the viv? I was thinking of collecting a few to to start a culture.


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## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

All of the pictures in this thread are things taken out of the viv. I'm not culturing them, but it might be possible. They are subterranean critters though, which generally don't work well for feeders, in my experience.


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## Frognut (Jan 31, 2005)

Where I found them was under some leaf litter along with a few Isopods, I would asume they like it a bit wetter as most of shrimp species. do they seem to stay low in the substrate or beneath it? they may be good to have in the viv. as soil workers in that transition layer beneth the substrate and above the lica.

Now I will have to go on a hunt for new microfauna, as well as these. I think we are talking about the same thing? they move quickly along the soil to find a place to hide.


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## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

Yeah, they are quick movers and jumpers. They seem to be low in the leaf litter, but I've seen them (unsuccessfully) trying to climb the glass before.


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## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

I found a couple interesting mites. Here is a brown one.


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## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

Here is a springtail isolated from my tank. These guys can REALLY jump.


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## Otis (Apr 16, 2006)

yes, they can. hence the name _spring_ tail.


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## Nubster (Jun 16, 2008)

The shots of the mites is great. What is your camera setup? Here is a shot of a sow bug (woodlice) I took the first day I got my macro lens...


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