Infusoria
Encyclopedia
Infusoria is a collective term for minute aquatic creatures like ciliate
Ciliate
The ciliates are a group of protozoans characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagella but typically shorter and present in much larger numbers with a different undulating pattern than flagella...

s, euglenoids
Euglena
Euglena is a genus of unicellular flagellate protists. It is the best known and most widely studied member of the phylum Euglenozoa , a diverse group containing some 44 genera and at least 800 species. Species of Euglena are found in fresh and salt waters...

, protozoa
Protozoa
Protozoa are a diverse group of single-cells eukaryotic organisms, many of which are motile. Throughout history, protozoa have been defined as single-cell protists with animal-like behavior, e.g., movement...

, and unicellular algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...

 that exist in freshwater pond
Pond
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...

s. In modern formal classifications the term is considered obsolete; and the microorganisms previously included in the Infusoria are mostly assigned to the Kingdom Protist
Protist
Protists are a diverse group of eukaryotic microorganisms. Historically, protists were treated as the kingdom Protista, which includes mostly unicellular organisms that do not fit into the other kingdoms, but this group is contested in modern taxonomy...

a.

Myonemes

In Infusoria and some Flagellates, the differentiated threads of ectosarc, which are contractile and doubly refractive, perform the function of muscular fibres in the Metazoa.

Aquarium use

Infusoria are used by owners of aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

s to feed fish fry; newly hatched fry of many common aquarium species can be successfully raised on this food during early development due to its size and nutritional content. Many home aquaria are unable to naturally supply sufficient Infusoria for fish rearing and hobbyists either create and maintain their own Infusoria cultures
Microbiological culture
A microbiological culture, or microbial culture, is a method of multiplying microbial organisms by letting them reproduce in predetermined culture media under controlled laboratory conditions. Microbial cultures are used to determine the type of organism, its abundance in the sample being tested,...

or use one of the many commercial cultures available. Infusoria can be cultured by soaking any decomposing vegetative matter like papaya skin into a jar of aged water. The Infusoria culture will be done from 2-3 days depending on temperature and light received. The water will first turn cloudy, but it will clear up once the infusoria eat the bacteria which caused the cloudiness. At this point the Infusoria will be ready, and they will usually be visible to the naked eye as small, white specs swimming in the container.

External links

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