MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

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.



Semi oblique lighting and 25x apo objective.

Nice and crisp video of this fascinating creature Chris ! I have a large population of these in my tank as well.

Thanks for the encouragement mintakax. Always fun watching rotifers

Very nice video! How did you get such a clean sample? Almost no soil or sand in the sample. You use a pipette to extract the animal from the original sample?

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 in the samples (and the clumps is usually where they hang out), but sometimes you can find an adventurous one between the clumps. HTH

Thank you for the information! All my best samples are from mud or really dirty water. That's where they all hang out So I've been thinking of how to clean samples. I think I'll start another thread and see if people are willing to share their procedures.

For what its worth, I have frequently used a stereo microscope to view a large sample and then used a tiny capillary pipette to transfer one creature onto a slide and then add a drop or two of clear pond water. The technique works really well and the capillary pipettes don't require any manipulation of a bulb.

I vote for more info on mintakax's "tiny capillary pipettes" and how they're used, preferably with pix.

KurtM wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 15, 2020 2:45 am

I vote for more info on mintakax's "tiny capillary pipettes" and how they're used, preferably with pix.

Haha- I was having trouble with a regular bulb type pipette in picking off individual ciliates from a larger sample viewed through a stereo scope.The bulb pressure between my fingers kept changing and it introduced currents that would blow the organism away. There was not enough depth to use the "finger over the other end" method. I ordered some 0.3mm ID x100m (length) capillary pipettes that suck as soon as they hit the water without any finger or bulb over the end. When I found an organism that I wanted to isolate I positioned the pipette where I could see it over the surface of the sample and "stabbed" it through the surface and it would slurp up the creature. I then gently blew into the other end to transfer the very tiny drop of water onto a slide. I became pretty skilled at this technique after a while . I could reuse the pipettes several times but after a while they became clogged. When I reused them I was very mindful not to put the wrong end in my mouth when I blew the drop out

EDIT-- supposed to be 0.3mm ID

Ah, okay, thanks! I have plenty of capillary tubes on hand, which I use along with a butane torch for stretching glass needles for my diatom-picking machine. Be an interesting change of pace around here to actually use something for its intended purpose! I can see where picking up micro-critters is easy with them, but was wondering how you eject them ... and now I know! And YES, bulb pipettes are iffy at best for transferring wee beasties so I'm happy to have this tip.

@ Chris Dee: Sorry about the thread hijack (all mintakax's fault, he started it), but if it helps me gain forgiveness, I liked your video - Squatinella is an old favorite of mine, clearly remember being amazed the first time I saw it. It was in phase contrast, which really does a number on it.