Cyclops belong to the family of copepods. Entering the class of crustaceans, the cyclops has a unique body structure, which significantly distinguishes it from other representatives. Surprisingly, despite their small size, these crustaceans not only serve as food for most fish, but can also eat the fish itself until it has grown.
Description
In fact, the cyclops refers to crustacean, planktonic individuals that can be found in almost every freshwater reservoir. They serve as the main source of food for most fish and fry.
At the same time, they themselves eat a wide variety of microorganisms, so that the water is constantly maintained in a clean state. In addition, thanks to the food activity of the Cyclops, it receives a significant share of clarification and improvement of its natural qualities.
Basic data
Usually, all copepods are called cyclops due to their external resemblance, but this is not a valid statement, because the appearance of each crustacean is unique in its own way. The largest individuals, with rare exceptions, do not exceed 4.5 mm. On average, the size of a standard representative is from 0.5 to 2 mm. All cyclops can be divided into males and females by pronounced sexual characteristics. Cyclops are crustaceans, the color of which depends on the food they use, with which they adopt part of the coloring pigment, but most often they are:
- Gray.
- Red.
- Green.
Despite its size, most cyclops lead a predatory lifestyle. Moreover, for hunting, they most often use the technique of an unexpected, quick jump to an unsuspecting victim. At a time when hunting for some reason is impossible, they eat various algae.
The appearance of the cyclops
The crustacean cyclops are characterized by year-round habitat in water bodies. As a result, they have a significant impact on human life, not only increasing the fish population, but also infecting people through it with various parasitic worms. In fact, daphnia, like the cyclops, are crustaceans, whose structure is significantly different from most other individuals that belong to the same class, and which have a unique body structure, but the shape of the head of the cyclops is more complex. It is located on it:
- One eye - it was he who served as the main reason for the copepod to get its second name - cyclops.
- Two pairs of antennas.
- The oral apparatus.
- A few legs of the jaws.
Moreover, one pair of antennas is much better developed and is much longer than the other. It is due to it that the cyclops develops the required speed, however, it can also be used for alternative tasks. For example, a male with their help can hold the female during the mating period.
The entire cyclops body is divided into separate segments, while the chest area received five of them at once. In addition, chest legs with special bristles are attached to it, helping individuals to make swimming movements. The abdomen received 4 segments and a special branch at the end.
Breeding
In order to determine the sex of the crustacean cyclops, simply catch the individual and look at it through a magnifying glass. If you find a small bag at the end of the body, then you have a female in front of you, if not, a male. These crustaceans breed at a very high speed, due to which they can quickly populate the reservoir into which they fell to failure. Thanks to this, Cyclops perfectly survives in large quantities even in the conditions of vessels or aquariums intended for storage.
Crustaceans, breeding which is possible at home and is not particularly difficult, are caught using a net from a thin and durable fabric. In any other case, catching this small crustacean will not succeed. It will simply slip into the holes along with the flowing water. Next, you need to run several individuals in a vessel with water.
Larvae
Nauplius - this is the name of the larva from which the cyclops are hatched. Crustaceans, the reproduction of which is carried out in sufficiently large quantities, originate at the base of the female abdomen, in one or more egg sacs. In the future, fully formed larvae emerge from the laid eggs. It is worth noting that their appearance is fundamentally different from a full-fledged, adult individual.
Under natural conditions, it is rather difficult for a fish to catch a cyclops or its larva due to extreme mobility. Therefore, one thing must be taken into account. If crustacean cyclops are used to feed domestic fish, then it is worth throwing a very limited number of individuals into the aquarium, because if the fish do not have time to eat them in a timely manner, the crustaceans will begin to grow rapidly within the aquarium and will simply eat all the fry.
Habitat
Most often, crustacean cyclops (Cyclops) and their closest relatives Diaptomus (Diaptomus) can be found in the coastal stripes of lakes and rivers. Thanks to their powerful antennas, they repel both from the water itself and from the bottom and make the jumps they need to move. At the same time, the jump itself can be made in any direction necessary for the cyclops and is made at sufficiently large distances, given their small size.
Crustacean cyclops can cover distances of up to 75 mm in just one second. For comparison: the cyclops more than 25 times faster swims the distance that a submarine travels at medium speed.
A separate species of crustaceans Calanus can be found even in conditions of salty sea waters. It is also a major part of plankton and serves as the most affordable food for many fish.
