another Stentor

[Harold]

I think these guys are my current favorite.

https://youtu.be/69nbyxz651U

[smollerthings]

Nice. Where did you find them?

[Harold]

They turned up in a sample I pulled from a pond in the Reinhart Volunteer Park a couple blocks from my home. The sample included some submerged leaves and a bit of mud. At first I only found a lot of Colpidium, some tiny flagellates and Oxytricha. I tossed a few wheat grains in and just let it stew for about a week. When I got back to it a couple days ago, it was a soup of small ciliates, the odd blepharisma, many Amoeba and these Stentors. I've done my share of pond and puddle dipping, but this is the most productive sample I've ever had. It was well worth getting soaked in cold water up to my knees.

[ScienceMatters]

Wow, great sample, nice video.

[Dubious]

A nice specimen and great video.

[Harold]

First of all, I want to thank y'all for the kind words. I'm still very much the beginner. I've got a dark field adapter for the BH2 I used to take these videos. Looking forward to a lot of experimentation with that. And yes, the sample is definitely a winner. I just wish the drop-off into the pond where I got it wasn't quite so steep and the bottom so uneven. I did find some pond dippers on Amazon but they want a pretty penny for anything longer than 3 feet. May be time to hit Home Depot for a rake handle and some sort of bucket.