cyclops; water flea (Cyclops spp.)
Refers to tiny freshwater crustaceans of the genus Cyclops, often found in ponds and used as fish food. The name comes from the single eye-like spot.
When I looked at the pond water under a microscope, there were many cyclops swimming around.
I feed cyclops to the killifish.
ミジンコ (water flea) is a broader term for small freshwater cladocerans, while ケンミジンコ specifically refers to copepods of the genus Cyclops, which have a different body shape and a single eye-like spot.
Standard katakana spelling for this organism name.
Ateji kanji spelling; rarely used. The word is usually written in kana.
The name combines 剣 (ken, 'sword') with 微塵子 (mijinko, 'water flea'), likely referring to the sword-like shape of the egg sacs or body. The exact derivation is uncertain.