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Organism: Free Swimming Ciliates- Spirostomum

General Identification: The Ciliates are more complex organisms than the amoebae and flagellates.  Over 7000 known species exist of some of the most complex single-celled organisms ever. Free swimming ciliates are covered with cilia, hair-like projections, which are uniform and aligned in rows. The ciliates move and capture food by means of the cilia. The anterior portion of the ciliate is the oral region which is also covered with cilia. Most free swimming ciliates range in size from 20-400 µm and have two kinds of nuclei.  Sexual reproduction is by conjugation.  Free-swimmers swim faster than flagellates so they can out compete them for food.  Ciliates feed on bacteria not on dissolved organics. While bacteria and flagellates compete for dissolved organics, ciliates compete with other ciliates and rotifers for bacteria. They are usually an indicator of good quality sludge. They are typically found in young to medium age sludge.

Additional Information: Free swimming ciliates are protozoa that are in the phylum Ciliophora. Many different types of free swimming ciliates exist, including "crawling" ciliates`. Some types commonly found in wastewater are Paramecium, Euplotes, and Aspidisca.

Where Found: They are found in various types of water, including freshwater and wastewater. Free swimming ciliates are important because they work with the bacteria. They feed on the bacteria and thus help to clarify the effluent. These can be found during most sludge ages but are dominant during the middle sludge ages.

How to Find Them: Microscopic examination of a wet mounts

Spirostomum is a genus of heterotrich ciliates, and some species in this genus may extend up to 1-4 mm in length. They have a line of membranelles leading from the anterior of the cell to the cytostome which is located about half way down the cell. The oral region usually at least 1/2 of the body length and very easy to distinguish.  Typically it is very easy to see the large contractile vacuole at posterior end of cell. 

Spriortomum have many  nucleii which form a long strand, like a string of pearls. These organisms contract their body quickly and hold the record for the fastest body contractions of any living cell. Their claim to the most famous behavior: contracting themself faster than any other living entity or cell. They can  contract the length of their body to 25% of their normal size in  approximately 6-8 milliseconds. Spirostomum feeds on bacteria like most ciliates.  During cold weather, they form large clusters of organisms that hibernate together.
These organisms typically can be found in  habitats with low oxygen.

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Free Swimming Ciliates enlarged- more photos at larger magnification 400x

Wastewater Biomass Analyses