Pond Boss
Posted By: MNFISH2 Unidentified Water Life? - 01/13/17 03:50 AM
Had the underwater cam down in one of my ponds today. When I turn on the light this is what I see. Can anybody tell me what I'm seeing?

https://youtu.be/pUjxGAzXaqE
Posted By: teehjaeh57 Re: Unidentified Water Life? - 01/13/17 04:22 AM
Can't access, says private. Dude, what you're teasing me?
Posted By: MNFISH2 Re: Unidentified Water Life? - 01/13/17 04:31 AM
Is the film fixed?

It's the "white spheres" I'm wondering about. Zooplankton maybe? When the camera is held those sphere move like a living organism. This clip doesn't show the darting very well
Posted By: Instar Re: Unidentified Water Life? - 01/13/17 04:31 AM
What are we supposed to be looking at? All I see is the usual suspended detritus.
Posted By: teehjaeh57 Re: Unidentified Water Life? - 01/13/17 04:37 AM
I see some of that kicked up from the camera, but also see what I think you are focused upon...my pond camera shows really dense clouds of what I figured was zooplankton, also. Sometimes it's almost like a blizzard on the camera. Is that what you are wondering, also?
Posted By: MNFISH2 Re: Unidentified Water Life? - 01/13/17 04:46 AM
Blizzard is a PERFECT description for what I'm seeing! I know they are living organisms because of the way they move. But what are they...I'm not smart enough to tell
Posted By: azteca Re: Unidentified Water Life? - 01/13/17 05:09 AM
Hello.

I thing they are colony of Rotifers.

A+
Posted By: jgr Re: Unidentified Water Life? - 01/13/17 06:02 PM
Last weekend we were on our pond ice fishing and I was using my underwater Vexilar camera and saw exactly the same thing. It was white and could be stirred up more if the camera touched the bottom.There was a lot of it, no matter where I went. I just thought it was some kind of debris but it was off a clean, rocky bottom. I am curious though.It would be great if it could be used as food for the fish.
Posted By: Bill Cody Re: Unidentified Water Life? - 01/13/17 06:18 PM
If they are actually swimming while the camera is motionless, they are zooplankton and by their size I think they are Daphnia - water fleas that have small species and larger species. One good way to recognize water fleas is they have a jerky swimming motions.
Posted By: liquidsquid Re: Unidentified Water Life? - 01/19/17 08:01 PM
Also they look like spheres because they are out of focus and brightly lit. Could be anything!
Posted By: azteca Re: Unidentified Water Life? - 01/19/17 09:33 PM
Hello.

A nice site where you can see some critter (protozoa, rotifer), you can find in your pond.

Also if you take a 4x lens(magnifying glass), you can see some protozoa and rotifers.

http://www.kolvoortonderwaterfoto.nl/en/photos-netherlands/freshwater/protozoa

A+
Posted By: Bill Cody Re: Unidentified Water Life? - 01/20/17 03:55 PM
To see protozoa and rotifers to where they are recognizable, one should have 40X to 100X magnificatons. The things you are seeing with a 4X hand lens are not individual rotifers and definately not individual protozoa. Protozoa are several times smaller than the smallest rotifers. Most of the things in the link were likely large colonial groups of rotifers and protozoa clusters or groupings. The pictures did not show the individual organisms. It was similar to seeing color of a flower garden but not the individual flowers.
Posted By: DonoBBD Re: Unidentified Water Life? - 01/21/17 08:18 PM
Today down at our pond I found what looked to be poppy seeds floating all over the shore in the calm areas. I reached in to scoop some up and they all were alive. Some kind of small wiggly thing long and slim with feet on the bottom.
Posted By: Bill Cody Re: Unidentified Water Life? - 01/22/17 01:54 AM
Could you have gotten or still get a close-up picture that is not all blurry? Maybe put some in a plastic bag and capture an image. Your kids may be able to work a smart phone for pictures than the adults. I'm pretty good at identifying invertebrates. I did it as a profession for about 10 years and I am still pretty good at it if the image is in focus. Too small of individuals and it takes microscopic magnification. I have seen small 3/8" long stoneflies crawling on the snow when I was ice fishing.
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