MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Cheers mintakax. Yes I was lucky to find an occupied one. In all honesty, if it wasn't moving I'd likely have dismissed it as a clump of detritus and moved on. :D Thanks for the input cuxlander. The overlay scale was made using a calibration slide so should be accurate. I studied the footage further...

I'll add the simplest method. Float a cover slip on the surface of a pond water sample and leave for 8 hours. Place a drop of clean sample water on a slide then carefully lift the cover slip off the surface and place on the slide. The hard bit is lifting the floating cover slip off without contamina...

This sample came from a hollow rock in the critter tank. I scraped inside the hollow a little with the tip of a pipette then sucked up a sample. This was placed in a small vial and allowed to settle, then samples taken from the bottom of the vial for examination. I still get clumps of grit/detritus ...

There seems to be some uncertainty identifying Difflugia pyriformis but its the closest match I could find. Input welcome.

Thanks for the encouragement mintakax. Always fun watching rotifers

Is this a rotifer in the process of forming a cyst or something else? Any help appreciated.

If you do go the DSLR route and plan to use it's live view function on a monitor via HDMI, do your research on live view output resolution. They can vary considerably and some models reduce the resolution while recording video. That was something I wished I'd known beforehand, but is seldom mentioned.

A good population of these in my critter tank at the moment, but quite difficult to film. Took several slides to find one that wasn't spinning non-stop. Excuse the hot-spot in the centre, I'm trying a new photo eyepiece which needs some work. AUMB8RWAw-Q Semi oblique lighting and 25x apo objective.

If you know someone with a 3D printer they might be willing to design/print an adapter for you.

2012 date code, seem to be ok Bob but I'll keep an eye on them.

Fantastic result, well done.

Absolutely Bob. Unfortunately I wasn't thinking of others when I designed it. Having bought a batch of 300 BH slides + slips in a sale, I'm resigned to not needing any others. I prioritised access for grasping by 2 edges with clumsy fingers. Not a fan of using tweezers.

Designed this 3D printed slide workbox in an attempt to organise my limited deskspace. Holds 10 slides/cover slips and four vials. See description on Thingiverse if anyone wants to print one for themselves: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4091518

Hi mintakax. The slide used was a standard one with cover slip, though the detritus that invariably gets included in my pipette samples does tend to elevate the cover slip. I've tried well slides and find them awkward to work with, but I imagine they may work well with larger specimens such as this....

Having used only 25w halogen my preference for LED may be skewed in some aspects. The high power LED I currently use enables me to capture at faster shutter speeds/lower ISO via liveview, with less radiated heat, reducing sample drying. The main reason I prefer LED however is rendering and contrast....

Did you use a cover slip? You might get more detail without one.

Medusa aquaria Very nice Bob.

Personally I find my Chinese 60x Plan Achromat useful, but careful slide preparation is needed for best results.

I digitised 300 family 35mm slides with a DIY setup of diffused flash/DSLR/macro lens/and slide mount. The results were acceptable but the biggest hurdle was ensuring the slides were clean and dust free beforehand. If not stated in the eBay service listing (sorry don't speak German) I'd enquire abou...

Search eBay for '25ml PET pots', you might find something suitable. Be aware most plastic containers have a 'spru' protrusion in the base (injection point for the plastic in the mould). This may or may no be a problem when observing samples in the container.

Given the location shown I'd suggest its caused by the warmth/humidity of your own breath using the microscope. Insulating that area with some foam tape should prevent it.

I was brought up not to waste things, so left over samples are returned. As humans we kill millions of microbes daily washing ourselves, walking, cooking, even just breathing. Stopping breathing will prevent further deaths and may increase microbe populations in the long run.

I also encountered this with my 25x 0.65 NA objective. As 75RR states you'll need a larger custom patch. On my microscope I noticed a difference of just 1mm in radius had a large effect, and the margin of error for good contrast and dark background was narrow. Careful condenser height adjustment was...

Lovely video 75RR. Excellent detail, definitely Cthulu

Cue little fella.

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Looking forward to seeing some shots from your new microscope, keep us informed as to how you get on.

Thanks mintakax. Its a toothy grin

Thanks for the info' Charlie, very useful. I like the Relis B.Brown recommendation and will try this ring method out. If I can get it to work well enough it would avoid having to apply MC to the whole sample, my only concern is how much it will elevate the cover slip. I recently bought a batch of ch...

Thanks for the feedback 75RR. I agree, not the best colours for the subject, just something a little different. Pink next ;) The tank has a healthy population of green and brown Hydra, this one was rinsed back to its home. Thanks Charlie. I've a floating ring in the tank to keep an area free of duck...