Bright-field light microscopy; low-power. In air. Size <0.5 mm, barely visible to naked eye.
water sample: collected 8m ago in an aquaculture pool next to the ocean, with a large amount of filiform algae and small gastropods and amphipods between them
I tried to find a tardigrade because I heard my granddaughter was doing something on tardigrades at school. From moss which was frozen, brought inside, water added, this creature was very active within 2 days. It looked just like a tardigrade in a 30X microscope, and then I tried taking a photo with an iPhone through the eyepiece. Not great pictures, I will try to improve them but the animal is elusive. Even with the poor images the iNaturalist community helps improve the ID.
250x
I think it has at least 3 claws