Nicole Alvarado

Intertidal Marine Worm (Nereis spp.)

<div class="wpb_row vc_row-fluid">
 <div class="vc_span12 wpb_column column_container">
 <div class="wpb_wrapper">
 <div class="wpb_text_column wpb_content_element">
 <div class="wpb_wrapper">
 
 Hello again, Nicole here, but this time I will be sharing a couple of freshwater specimens. There is great diversity between the different species both at a macroscopic and anatomical level and a microscopic level. My husband Nilo and I have a couple of  planted tanks so I decided to look at some of the plants and a “pest” at the cellular level. Nilo works with microscopes ALL the time, he studies phytoplankton and was excited to help me mount the slides and explore. Unfortunately, one of our tanks recently had an unexpected and significant rise in temperature killing all of the fish 🙁 and 3 of 4 shrimp (a robust survivor!) while also promoting the rapid growth of a nasty invader, generically known as ‘Green Hair Algae.’  This unfavorable long and stringy nuisance is difficult to identify because many strains look very similar (with the naked eye, us aquarists need more foldscopes!). Green Hair Algae are also so diverse that some individuals are actually more closely related to fungi and animals than plants. CRAZY!!! Here are a series of photos from afar, closer and a close up of the hairy pest.
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15656" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_15656" style="width: 474px">
 <img alt="Look for the hairy green algae along the piece of wood to the left in the tank" class="wp-image-15656 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15656" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462380917","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"1000","shutter_speed":"0.06666","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="hair1" data-recalc-dims="1" height="267" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/hair1.jpg" width="474"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15656">
 Look for the hairy green algae along the piece of wood to the right in the tank.
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 <img alt="hair2" class="wp-image-15657 alignleft gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15657" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462380927","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"1250","shutter_speed":"0.06666","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="hair2" data-recalc-dims="1" height="202" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/hair2.jpg" width="359"/>
 <img alt="hair3" class="wp-image-15658 alignright gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15658" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462380952","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"1600","shutter_speed":"0.06666","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="hair3" data-recalc-dims="1" height="191" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/hair3.jpg" width="339"/>
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 It looks cool once magnified, I wonder if the different individuals can be identified to species level under a foldscope lens?
 
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15659" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_15659" style="width: 300px">
 <img alt="Slide of Hairy Green Algae" class="size-medium wp-image-15659 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15659" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462406856","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"500","shutter_speed":"0.03333","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="hair_slide" data-recalc-dims="1" height="169" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/hair_slide.jpg" width="300"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15659">
 Slide of Hairy Green Algae
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15661" class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_15661" style="width: 360px">
 <img alt="hair_micro2" class="wp-image-15661 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15661" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462380853","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"80","shutter_speed":"0.00833","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="hair_micro2" data-recalc-dims="1" height="203" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/hair_micro2.jpg" width="360"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15661">
 Green Hairy Algae view with Foldscope
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15660" class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_15660" style="width: 337px">
 <img alt="hair_micro1" class="wp-image-15660 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15660" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462380856","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"400","shutter_speed":"0.03333","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="hair_micro1" data-recalc-dims="1" height="190" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/hair_micro1.jpg" width="337"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15660">
 Subsequent view of Green Hairy Algae
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 So on to the healthy tank where we find numerous species, but I will only be looking at two of them: Subwassertang (
 
 Lomariopsis lineata
 
 ) and Java Moss (
 
 Vesticularia dubyana
 
 ).
 
 
 
 Note
 
 : both species have contradicting scientific names, neither of which have 100% certain identities. This is ironic because they are both very common in planted tanks.
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15665" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_15665" style="width: 623px">
 <img alt="A well established and healthy tank containing at least 8 or 9 different species." class="wp-image-15665 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15665" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462386409","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"500","shutter_speed":"0.04999","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="tank" data-recalc-dims="1" height="351" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/tank.jpg" width="623"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15665">
 A well established and healthy planted tank containing at least 8 or 9 different freshwater plant species. The fish are hard to distinguish in this picture but there are 5 neon tetras (
 
 Paracheirodon innesi
 
 ), a glowlight tetra (
 
 Hemigrammus erythrozonus
 
 ) and a shrimp (just above the glow light). Can you find them?
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 Subwassertang originated from India and quickly spread to southeast Asia and can grow in both high and low light. It looks and feels like a seaweed but is a liverwort. This plant can be placed on the bottom of the tank, in gravel or sand, or tied to driftwood or a rock and will attach and grow.
 
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15666" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_15666" style="width: 394px">
 <img alt="Subwassertang with Neon Tetra (Paracheirodon innesi)." class="wp-image-15666 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15666" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462384738","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"640","shutter_speed":"0.06666","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="subwass" data-recalc-dims="1" height="222" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/subwass.jpg" width="394"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15666">
 Subwassertang with neon tetra
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15667" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_15667" style="width: 300px">
 <img alt="Subwassertang slide" class="size-medium wp-image-15667 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15667" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462384934","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"640","shutter_speed":"0.06666","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="subwass_slide" data-recalc-dims="1" height="169" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/subwass_slide.jpg" width="300"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15667">
 Subwassertang slide
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15668" class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_15668" style="width: 361px">
 <img alt="subwassertang" class="wp-image-15668 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15668" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462383836","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"50","shutter_speed":"0.00385","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="subwassertang" data-recalc-dims="1" height="203" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/subwassertang.jpg" width="361"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15668">
 Subwassertang normal view with the foldscope
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15669" class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_15669" style="width: 327px">
 <img alt="Subwassertang with 3.4X magnification of my phone" class="wp-image-15669 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15669" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462384026","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"50","shutter_speed":"0.00472","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="subwassertang2" data-recalc-dims="1" height="184" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/subwassertang2.jpg" width="327"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15669">
 Subwassertang with 3.4X magnification of my phone
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Java Moss is native to southeast Asia and is very common in planted aquariums. It’s long and thin with lateral protrusions and currently has brown masses along the underside (possibly spores or sori?) This plant can thrive with varying light intensities and can even survive in brackish water! If placed on solid surfaces (rocks or wood) it will easily attach, and is a great addition if attempting to maintain water quality.
 
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15671" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_15671" style="width: 467px">
 <img alt="Java Moss close up. Intricate and beautiful!" class="wp-image-15671 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15671" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462386082","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"400","shutter_speed":"0.03333","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="java_moss" data-recalc-dims="1" height="263" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/java_moss.jpg" width="467"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15671">
 A close up of the intricate and beautiful Java Moss!
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15672" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_15672" style="width: 300px">
 <img alt="Java Moss slide" class="wp-image-15672 size-medium gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15672" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462386050","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"640","shutter_speed":"0.06666","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="jmoss_slide" data-recalc-dims="1" height="169" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/jmoss_slide.jpg" width="300"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15672">
 Java Moss slide
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 
 A couple of different views are shown below
 
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15675" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_15675" style="width: 300px">
 <img alt="The terminal end of a single strand of Java Moss" class="wp-image-15675 size-medium gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15675" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462385870","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"50","shutter_speed":"0.00602","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="jmoss_tip" data-recalc-dims="1" height="169" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/jmoss_tip.jpg" width="300"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15675">
 The terminal end of a single strand of Java Moss
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15673" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_15673" style="width: 300px">
 <img alt="Central portion of the same slide containing Java Moss" class="size-medium wp-image-15673 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15673" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462385420","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"50","shutter_speed":"0.03278","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="jmoss_mid" data-recalc-dims="1" height="169" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/jmoss_mid.jpg" width="300"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15673">
 Central portion of the same slide
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15674" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_15674" style="width: 300px">
 <img alt="Edge of plant showing one of the protrusions!" class="wp-image-15674 size-medium gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15674" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462385623","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"500","shutter_speed":"0.03333","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="jmoss_vein" data-recalc-dims="1" height="169" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/jmoss_vein.jpg" width="300"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15674">
 Edge of plant showing one of the protrusions!       (I think the far right cluster of cells in the field of view is the protrusion or part of a lateral blade…)
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15676" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_15676" style="width: 300px">
 <img alt="Spore?" class="size-medium wp-image-15676 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15676" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"XT1585","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462385421","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"50","shutter_speed":"0.03278","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="jmoss_sorus" data-recalc-dims="1" height="169" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15655/jmoss_sorus.jpg" width="300"/>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-15676">
 Spores? The brown area in the center of the picture reminded me of the sori from a fern, but it isn’t flat circles it is a bit more three-dimensional and hair-like. It kind of looks like an olive, yumm!
 </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 
 
 
 I hope you all enjoyed learning a bit about freshwater planted tanks, I had fun sharing! Until next time 🙂
 
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
</div>

Nicole Alvarado

Earth

Posts

Intertidal Marine Worm (Nereis spp.)

A Tale of Two Freshwater Planted Tanks

Locations

Statistics

Type of Sample

Foldscope Lens Magnification