How many metazoan phyla can you spot in this shot from my reef tank? Chordata is missing on account of my damselfish being ridiculously skittish (probably because he shares his home with a mantis shrimp).
Archive for the 'It Came from the Reef Tank' Category
It Came from the Reef Tank #1: Ostracod
Published April 14, 2010 It Came from the Reef Tank , Ostracods 1 CommentTags: Ostracod
I am going to start a running catalogue of the diverse arthropod microfauna of my reef tank. Here is my first attempt to capture one of these tiny animals. This is a sediment-dwelling ostracod, about 250 microns in carapace length.
Ostracod, the white stuff around him is detritus.
I know, ugly photo, but this was a first attempt. Can anyone ID it further? The rubble in the tank was aquacultured on the gulf coast of Florida, but this little guy could have hopped on at the fish store.
More about Ostracods in my next post.
Arthropoda 