Infusoria are minute freshwater life forms including

ciliate The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagellum, eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a ...

euglenoids Euglenids (euglenoids, or euglenophytes, formally Euglenida/Euglenoida, ICZN, or Euglenophyceae, ICBN) are one of the best-known groups of flagellates, which are excavate eukaryotes of the phylum Euglenophyta and their cell structure is typica ...

protozoa Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...

, unicellular

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

and small

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s. Some authors (e.g., Bütschli) used the term as a synonym for

Ciliophora The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a different ...

. In modern formal classifications, the term is considered obsolete; the

microorganisms A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

previously included in the Infusoria are mostly assigned to the kingdom

Protist A protist () is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the exc ...

Aquarium use

Infusoria are used by owners of aquaria to feed fish fry; because of its small size it can be used to rear newly hatched fry of many common aquarium species. Many home aquaria are unable to naturally supply sufficient infusoria for fish-rearing, so hobbyists may create and maintain their own supply

cultures Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

or use one of the many commercial cultures available.Sharpe, Shirlie (December 22, 2018)
"How to Culture Your Own Infusoria at Home"
The Spruce Pets. Retrieved August 28, 2019. Infusoria can be cultured by soaking any decomposing vegetative matter such as papaya skin in a jar of aged (i.e., chlorine-free) water. The culture starts to proliferate in two to three days, depending on temperature and light received. The water first turns cloudy because of a rise in levels of bacteria, but clears up once the infusoria consume them. At this point, the infusoria are usually visible to the naked eye as small, white motile specks.

References

Bibliography

* Ratcliff, Marc J. (2009). The Emergence of the Systematics of Infusoria. In
''The Quest for the Invisible: Microscopy in the Enlightenment''
Aldershot: Ashgate. infusoria dieses first identified in 18th sentury in 1773 by o.f.mular(zoologist)

External links

Types of Protozoans and video

Fishkeeping Obsolete eukaryote taxa Microscopic discoveries by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek {{eukaryote-stub

Aquarium use

See also

References

Bibliography

External links