Heamatococcus in my culture bottle

[Crater Eddie]

If you saw my earlier photos of my algae cultures, you might remember that they were all various shades of green (except for the brown one on the left).
I noticed over the last few days that the one that I inoculated with Heamatococcus (hopefully) from the birdbath was turning yellow / orange. Today it was a deeper orange, so I thought it was time to take a look.
Here are the culture bottles:





A quick glance at the slide under low power revealed a thick soup of what looked like Heamatococcus (pluvialis?).
Switching to the 40X objective revealed:




Those things move fast, so it was difficult to focus properly.




I couldn't get a good focus on the flagella, but at least you can see what it is. The red shows up well.
This also shows very well all the crud on all the glass in my system. Needs a good cleaning.
I have tried linking to my Photobucket images here instead of uploading the images directly, it looks like it worked. Let me know if I didn't do it right.

[vasselle]

Bonjour
Très belles observation et les photos sont très bonne.
J'aime beaucoup
Cordialement seb

[lorez]

Good photos Eddie,

I did a little Wiki reading about these critters and it suggested that an abundance of light led to an increase in the red pigment. In your set-up is the light on a timer ?

I have what I think are the same organism, but am not sure. With your permission I could post a couple of frames.

lorez

[Crater Eddie]

Thanks!
Yes, the timer is set for a 16 hour photo-period in hopes of producing exactly this reaction.
Sure, go ahead and post a couple of your frames for comparison.
CE

[Crater Eddie]

Bonjour
Très belles observation et les photos sont très bonne.
J'aime beaucoup
Cordialement seb

Thank you!
CE

[lorez]

Thanks Eddie, Here are a couple of examples.

[Crater Eddie]

Good photos. Yes, those are more typical. I have really been pumping the light into my cultures to try and increase the growth and pigmentation. The other cultures seem to like it too, I'll have to take a look at them soon.
CE

[lorez]

Here is another one.

[gekko]

Some of your culture bottles look rather appetizing . Seriously, nice to see those images of Haemtococcus finally! Great!

Those things move fast, so it was difficult to focus properly.

It may help to "wick" out excess water from under the cover glass (or wait until most of it evaporates). The flagella may be more visible under oblique illumination. I hope this is the first of many more Haematococcus (or other critters) to come!

[Crater Eddie]

Thanks Gekko. Yes, I'll try that next time. I was just taking some quick shots last night for show and tell, I hope to work with it some more tonight. If I get any better images I'll put them up.
CE

[75RR]

Also looking forward to seeing some more.
Given the size of the bottle I imagine you will be able to photograph them until the cows come home, if you wish.
Great opportunity to perfect your Haematococcus technique.
Have you looked in the other bottles yet, or are you waiting for them to thicken a bit first?

[Crater Eddie]

The only other one I have looked at so far was the one full of filamentous algae, and the slide was astonishingly empty of organisms. I took the sample right out of the middle of the clump, perhaps that was my mistake. I was using a long pipette, so didn't get any of the algae itself... unfortunately with these narrow necked bottles it is going to be a little difficult to reach down in there to pull a few strands out. I'll have to make a long hook or something. In retrospect, it would have been better to put that culture in a jar.
CE

[JimT]

I echo gekko's advice. I usually wait for the water to evaporate a bit and as the cover glass settles it slows organisms down. But, shortly after that they explode!
Something else I read and have used (with mixed results) is gum Arabic mixed with a small amount of water. This will thicken and slow down the organisms.
Great to have a culture of organisms to explore during the winter.

[gekko]

Something else I read and have used (with mixed results) is gum Arabic mixed with a small amount of water. This will thicken and slow down the organisms.

I've never tried gum arabic (I didn't even know about it), but I've used methylcellulose or Protoslo (hydroxyethyl cellulose) solution which is often used for that purpose but in my hands, when I used too little it had no perceptible effect, and when I used more the protozoa ultimately swelled and died, so I don't use it anymore. I also tried glycerol (not as a mounting medium as seb uses it, but to increase viscosity), also with variable results. So thank you, JimT-- I might try gum arabic [I was about to ask where does one get it from, but, of course, Amazon-- where else? and it is not expensive].

[75RR]

I also tried glycerol (not as a mounting medium as seb uses it, but to increase viscosity), also with variable results.

Picked up some yesterday for that very purpose! Will let everyone know how it goes.
It is hydroscopic, so I imagine it is not suitable for use on certain subjects unless well diluted.

[microgreen]

gekko

You should be able to obtain Gum Arabic from an artists materials shop.
Ordinary wallpaper paste is a good substitute for Methylcellulose - provided the paste doesn't have a fungicide in its formula

Happy New Year
Tony
East Riding of Yorkshire(UK)

[gekko]

gekko
You should be able to obtain Gum Arabic from an artists materials shop.
Ordinary wallpaper paste is a good substitute for Methylcellulose - provided the paste doesn't have a fungicide in its formula
Happy New Year
Tony
East Riding of Yorkshire(UK)

Thank you very much, Tony, and a very Happy New Year to you.