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Re: Live Foods Digest V2 #73





On Thu, 19 Mar 1998, Rice wrote,
> Date: Thu, 19 Mar 1998 16:03:05 -0800
> From: Rice <ucmagguy at inetworld_net>
> Subject: Moina
> 
>         Today, I looked at my daphnia culture in Bio class, to my surprise, 
> they were not daphnia, not exactly, but very similar, size and all. The 
> only difference is that they seem to have two shells, just like a clam, 
> and they would clamp together whenever they get frighten. I received it 
> as a daphnia culture. wondering if they are moina actually. Someone 
> said that they need the culture, if the crustaceans I have are really 
> these, be happy to send some.  
> ---------------------------

Hi Rice,
Sounds like you've got some strange critters on your hands! Based on your 
description, I don't think that they are Moina. While they do look 
basically the same as Daphnia, Moina are usually considerably smaller.
They may be clam shrimp (Order Conchostraca). Did you get the "daphnia" 
culture from a store or from the wild? 
Clam shrimp are cool little guys, but aren't nearly as common as Daphnia.
They are typically found in fishless temporary pools.
Whatever your creatures are, I'm sure they will be a source of interest 
for your class.

Bentley Christie