Some homegrown diatoms

[LouiseScot]

I've been maintaining some cultures from a local river and from a pond in some jars since November. They are still alive and well!
Here are a few from the pond culture - just a small corner from the slide. The sample was treated with some diluted bleach in situ and mounted in air under a cover slip. I've ordered some Naphrax (at great expensive!) and have been experimenting with other possibilities. However, air mounting has been giving the best results so far.

All taken with Swift 380T, 40x and Canon 1100d, slightly oblique lighting.

PondBlair_40x_1_zoom.jpg (73.39 KiB) Viewed 2556 times

PondBlair_40x_2_zoom.jpg (66.33 KiB) Viewed 2556 times

PondBlair_40x_3_55pczoom.jpg (82.78 KiB) Viewed 2556 times

PondBlair_40x_3Crop33pc.jpg (86.25 KiB) Viewed 2556 times

Louise

[75RR]

Nice selection of small diatoms. I must admit that I am more drawn to the larger ones as there is that much more detail to be seen.

A big advantage of pond water and its denizens is that they keep and as you say reproduce.

I have to replace my salt water samples every three days or so.

Is your 40x a 0.65NA? It would be nice to see these with a 100/1.25 if you have one.

I find that placing them in water (which has a higher Refractive Index), works better for me.

Water Refractive Index = 1.33
Air Refractive Index = 1.0

[LouiseScot]

Nice selection of small diatoms. I must admit that I am more drawn to the larger ones as there is that much more detail to be seen.

A big advantage of pond water and its denizens is that they keep and as you say reproduce.

I have to replace my salt water samples every three days or so.

Is your 40x a 0.65NA? It would be nice to see these with a 100/1.25 if you have one.

I find that placing them in water (which has a higher Refractive Index), works better for me.

Water Refractive Index = 1.33
Air Refractive Index = 1.0

Hiya
Thanks. They seem to stay small in the confines of a jar though it might just be the limited number of species I have which were originally from a duck pond. I have a separate sample/culture taken from a local river at the beginning of November.
Yes, it's the Swift-supplied 40x/0.65. I'll try taking some pics with a 60x and with non-oblique lighting. Also will swap the camera to a 550d and make a HD video, live and prepared. I might try this particular slide with the Naphrax when I get it. I've tried other samples with Cassia oil (supposed to be 1.60) but didn't seem to get good results. I'll try some other things also.
Louise

[LouiseScot]

Here are some taken at 60x and some with a Canon 550d:

550d_PondBlair_1_60xcrop.jpg (107.2 KiB) Viewed 2460 times

PondBlair_60x_6crop2_50pc.jpg (19.56 KiB) Viewed 2460 times

PondBlair_60x_4crop50pc.jpg (97.06 KiB) Viewed 2460 times

550d_PondBlair60x_3_crop44pc.jpg (55.36 KiB) Viewed 2460 times

Not all have cleaned completely. I have some 'Trichlor' to try next time.

Louise

[Hobbyst46]

Hi LouiseScot,
Nice to see these home-grown diatoms. Motivating to try growing them at home. Freshwater species, not marine.
Do you have a protocol or some rules, when I pick a sample of diatoms (with some algae, naturally), how to keep it alive ?

[LouiseScot]

Hi LouiseScot,
Nice to see these home-grown diatoms. Motivating to try growing them at home. Freshwater species, not marine.
Do you have a protocol or some rules, when I pick a sample of diatoms (with some algae, naturally), how to keep it alive ?

Hiya

Nothing fancy, I just took some samples in small jars back in November. They sit on a window sill in my living room and in the (winter) light. But they are considerably warmer than outdoor ambient temperatures which have been sub zero here recently (brrr!). I've kept them topped up with boiled water and fed them with a little plant food - plus a silicon supplement Actually, not plant food - some yeast nutrient (as used in brewing though I don't drink these days!) Plus an occasional very small amount of powdered vitamin and mineral supplement. Both jars have been quite rich in protists and algae. In terms of diatoms there are obviously only the species that were in the original samples.

The jar on the left is the original river sample and the one on the right is from the duck pond:

Diatom cultures.jpg (40.64 KiB) Viewed 2432 times

I'll try and do some more videos of the live cultures soon.

Louise

[Hobbyst46]

...Nothing fancy, I just took some samples in small jars back in November. They sit on a window sill in my living room and in the (winter) light. But they are considerably warmer than outdoor ambient temperatures which have been sub zero here recently (brrr!). I've kept them topped up with boiled water and fed them with a little plant food - plus a silicon supplement Actually, not plant food - some yeast nutrient (as used in brewing though I don't drink these days!) Plus an occasional very small amount of powdered vitamin and mineral supplement. Both jars have been quite rich in protists and algae. In terms of diatoms there are obviously only the species that were in the original samples.

The jar on the left is the original river sample and the one on the right is from the duck pond:

I'll try and do some more videos of the live cultures soon.

Thanks ! looking forward to see the cultures.

[LouiseScot]

...Nothing fancy, I just took some samples in small jars back in November. They sit on a window sill in my living room and in the (winter) light. But they are considerably warmer than outdoor ambient temperatures which have been sub zero here recently (brrr!). I've kept them topped up with boiled water and fed them with a little plant food - plus a silicon supplement Actually, not plant food - some yeast nutrient (as used in brewing though I don't drink these days!) Plus an occasional very small amount of powdered vitamin and mineral supplement. Both jars have been quite rich in protists and algae. In terms of diatoms there are obviously only the species that were in the original samples.

The jar on the left is the original river sample and the one on the right is from the duck pond:

I'll try and do some more videos of the live cultures soon.

Thanks ! looking forward to see the cultures.

That's them imaged above! I've been having my first go at mounting in Naphrax but the results aren't as clear as I hoped. I think there may be something not right with my camera setup - or it might just be me!. Anyway, I'll post in a new thread later.
Louise