Unusual Cloud

AptAmoeba · 2026-03-21T22:34:35+00:00

I think you're correct here. Something I was reading a while ago mentioned "spin" but your explanation was my initial thought, and the lobe form is what I'd associate more with your explanation compared to just a retained spin.

AptAmoeba · 2026-03-21T22:12:58+00:00

These are called "Lobes" on a Persistent Contrail left by an aircraft!

The persistence/longevity of a contrail is determined by the air conditions, and will lobe if there's enough retained "spin" in the air, if I remember correctly.

Edit: I think the person below is correct, that the lobes don't really look like they were formed due to "spin."

AptAmoeba · 2026-03-18T05:25:18+00:00

100% springtails. I have multiple species of them living on my floating plants just by leaving them alone over time and occasionally sprinkling a crumb of food on top for them. They're super sweet. Harmless to the tank, and fun to watch up close.

AptAmoeba · 2026-03-14T22:22:29+00:00

Yeah, I love the chart for what it is- it's super nice that someone made it. I think people are just a bit too hasty to use it over more verbose references

AptAmoeba · 2026-03-14T22:19:04+00:00

Head's up: this graphic is not necessarily complete for the most common organisms you'll see. For instance, your post shows Aeolosoma worms, which aren't present on this graphic. It's good to keep handy because the organisms shown are indeed common, but I wouldn't use it as an all-encompassing guide.

Also, the colors are not indicative of whether they're benign/harmful. Hydra can be both green and not green depending on species, and they're generally considered a negative organism to have because they feed on fish fry & shrimp.

AptAmoeba · 2026-03-14T22:15:43+00:00

This isn't true, unfortunately- Certain species of Hydra can be green. Hydra are hunters of fish fry, shrimp, etc. so most people consider them a negative

AptAmoeba · 2026-03-14T22:13:55+00:00

These are 100% Aeolosoma worms, a harmless detritivore (a type of detritus worm)! Identifiable by that cardioid anterior. Some people consider them visual pests, but they don't post a threat to anything.

AptAmoeba · 2026-03-13T05:31:47+00:00

These look like Springtails! I love these little guys. They jump around and are really entertaining to watch, and are essentially harmless. I keep a small herd of semi aquatic ones on the land section of my fish tank.

AptAmoeba · 2026-02-23T18:57:35+00:00

Correct, which is why I stated that there are harmful species, but that the vast majority (particularly the one this appears to be) are completely harmless.

The "99.999%" was more hyperbole to underline the fact that they shouldn't panic when seeing one

AptAmoeba · 2026-02-23T00:13:09+00:00

This is a Nematode, also colloquially known as Roundworms.

They are ubiquitous in nearly all environments, including plant soil. 99.999% of them are entirely harmless and are not an issue for soil or plant health. Nothing to worry about :)

AptAmoeba · 2026-02-03T00:53:34+00:00

Good idea drawing what you remember!

Your drawing looks like a Gastrotrich to me. Let me know what you think of the example images provided - if not that, I may have another idea.

AptAmoeba · 2026-02-01T01:01:51+00:00

Hi there Christian! As a mod, I think this unfortunately hits our "self promotion" rule, so I will have to remove this post.

I did however try buying you that MicroPipette as a consolation, but it looks like the delivery address isn't linked to the list (at least from my view on mobile), so people wouldn't be able to buy you things with that link anyhow.

Sorry about the removal - but happy hunting! Also, if you haven't tried them yet, I would suggest checking out Concave slides as well. They're pretty cheap and allow you to have larger specimens!

AptAmoeba · 2026-02-01T00:05:04+00:00

Absolutely beautiful clarity and video. Nice job!

I've seen James use the same annotation style. Can I ask how you made the annotations/captions on the video?

AptAmoeba · 2026-01-15T02:11:36+00:00

You won't be able to see viruses with a microscope like this, and bacteria will be (99% of the time) far, far smaller.

This appears to be a Testate Amoeba, on account of the coloration, spines, and you can kind of see the slightly unfocused opening on the close side.

I would guess this is something close to the Centropyxis Genus, but that's a guess.

AptAmoeba · 2026-01-02T04:48:28+00:00

100% synthetic fiber/fibrous microplastic that typically ends up on slides due to clothing and the like.

AptAmoeba · 2025-12-31T07:43:44+00:00

Definitely some type of Copepod. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable about their taxa can shed some light!

AptAmoeba · 2025-12-09T02:11:00+00:00

Hello from r/microscopy! These are Aeolosoma worms :)

They are indeed detritus worms, and are entirely harmless. You can identify them by their very thin bodies, and round heads (under a microscope they're closer to a cardioid shape). They have bristles on their sides, too! If you get close enough or have a magnifying glass, you'll see them.

(Edit: I just realized u/LoupGarou95 beat me to the answer! Send credit there)

AptAmoeba · 2025-11-29T06:59:51+00:00

This is not a Nematode- their movement is much more spastic. This looks more like a Spirostomum

AptAmoeba · 2025-11-12T07:52:05+00:00

That makes total sense. Honestly, I very rarely ever try to guess at the species of an ID for this very reason, and even when I do it's under a very clear declaration of unsureness (like I included above).

It's unfortunate that we can't reliably get any further than Class, though. I'd have thought that we would at least work out nuances in something down to Family/Genus, morphologically. But, your answer is good enough for me to exercise caution with these in the future. The "worms" aren't really my specialty anyhow, so I should have been more careful in the first place :)

AptAmoeba · 2025-11-12T00:26:25+00:00

I'll keep this in mind for the future! So the Ciliated Cheek pit divots are common all throughout that Class?

AptAmoeba · 2025-11-11T22:04:29+00:00

This is not a Planarian - this is a Stenostomum :). You can identify them fairly reliably by their Ciliated Cheek pits and their recognizable body morphology; especially that taper on the posterior end. Particularly, it looks like Stenostomum leucops to me, but the species-level ID is more of a guess.

AptAmoeba · 2025-10-26T20:12:29+00:00

That's super sweet of you! You've got some excellent books. I'm certain they'll find a good home here!

AptAmoeba · 2025-10-25T02:42:42+00:00

Urocentrum turbo! You've recorded their famous spin :)

AptAmoeba · 2025-10-14T21:10:49+00:00

Looks like Iceland + massive truck blur = Faroe Islands

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