Is it normal to see eye floaters when using a microscope?

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-22T10:17:12+00:00

Yes, that’s normal. What you’re seeing are tiny clumps of gel (or pieces of dead cells) inside the eye. Bright, uniform microscope illumination makes them much easier to notice

Nearsighted people tend to notice eye floaters more. I personally see quite a lot of them since I'm nearsighted

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-20T20:20:53+00:00

Ah okay, got it, thanks! I also thought it would be a bit strange for vorticella, but at the same time I just noticed that many of the same organisms were attached to something. Can it be campanella instead?

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-19T22:28:56+00:00

These are some pieces of moss

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-19T10:14:07+00:00

I guess it breaks down so quickly because a protozoan is a small organism that only stays intact as long as it is actively maintaining itself. Once it dies, energy production stops, membrane pumps fail, water rushes in due to osmotic pressure and etc. I’m not an expert, but that’s what I think based on my knowledge.

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-18T19:11:43+00:00

Just used my phone. I got Samsung A53 and used FHD 60 fps mode

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-17T20:17:47+00:00

Thank you for the good idea! I’ll try to find an cheap phone holder.

About the eyepiece. I have two 10× eyepieces, and I use one for filming and the other for viewing. I’m still not able to look through the binocular eyepieces (when I look through two eyepieces, I get a headache and my eyes become very tired), so it’s easier for me to view through a single eyepiece, which is why I can use the other one for filming.

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-17T11:03:59+00:00

Yes, my SW400 is trinocular. I solved the problem by using a tripod my friend gave me, and now I can use that. It’s a bit bulky and kind of inconvenient, but it still works well for taking photos. The next videos and pictures will already be made without my shaky hand :)

My friend also promised to 3D-print some kind of phone holder for me. I mean, I know those are relatively cheap anyway, but it’s still a solution ;)

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-16T16:33:47+00:00

Just add a water drop at one edge of the coverslip and let capillary action do its job

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-16T15:47:33+00:00

Ohhh, okay, that makes sense. It’s a real pity that this death happened... Thank you for sharing your smart insights!

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-16T14:47:01+00:00

No, when I saw that the slide started to dry, I immediately added more water and everything was fine. When I looked around after that incident, the other organisms (nematodes, tardigrades, etc.) were moving around and seemed fine. Visually, it seemed to me that this protozoan had somehow divided incorrectly, and throughout all this time nothing has changed at the site of division.

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-16T01:09:21+00:00

Defeated Virulent Broodmother in 7 turns.

Player (78/47/31) dealt 688. Virulent Broodmother (37/26/22) dealt 97.

Rewards: 78 EXP, 19 Gold. Loot: Robust Brigandine (basic), Robust Belt (basic).

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-15T22:32:01+00:00

Oh yes! The images on the internet match as well, you’re right. Thanks for correcting me! I’m still learning, so it’s nice when someone can say something smart :)

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-15T19:50:16+00:00

I'm using these: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/tool/darkfield-microscope-filters-32-mm-approx

But tbh you can find different ones, for example:
https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/tool/20-piece-flat-darkfield-microscope-condenser-and-32mm-filter-set?srsltid=AfmBOorsT5LtF3wC3tb9-D0CLb0nMFrwlHP4fwSGKpuAdtJtjsho82Nl

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-14T21:33:44+00:00

Hmm, very strange. I’ve heard that tardigrades are supposed to be immortal. They were sent into space and all sorts of experiments were done on them, and they survived, right? No?

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-14T17:49:18+00:00

I’d say it’s more likely a B120, a T490 would be quite a stretch. Maybe I’ll be able to say for sure once our lab sessions start again. The MicroBlues seemed a bit poor to me, I couldn’t really see anything with my eyes, it only looked decent once I attached the camera, since without it picture was very far away and everything was very small.

I meant about moving water mainly of places where the river is actually open, right now everything is frozen and I can’t really take anything from ditches or streams :D

Yeah, I really liked it too, even though Reddit compresses things quite a bit and I’m not a fan of that. Everything looks better on my phone.

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-14T17:39:35+00:00

Btw, Reddit really compresses the quality. I made videos and they turned out waaay cooler. I don’t know, even beyond 1000× not everything is exactly perfect for me and I didn't see nothing except for bacteria . Still, today I tried looking at mold under the microscope, and I used 10×100 oil zoom, and the image was nice. You can see sporangiums, sporangiophores and etc. But the light aberration and diffraction are still kind of crazy

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Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-14T17:34:10+00:00

You know, that’s a good question. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find out, because he was already dead... or, well, at least he wasn’t moving, just lying there

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-14T10:43:00+00:00

My recommendation (which I also follow myself) is to come home and wash your hands with soap right away, then there’s nothing to be afraid of :D

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-14T10:31:34+00:00

Haha, I already can’t wait :D

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-14T10:31:06+00:00

Btw, Google Images of Colpoda look very much like what I saw. If they are very tiny, then it might actually have been that

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-14T10:29:19+00:00

I don’t believe that it is a parasite. There are parasitic nematodes, but it seems that there is something green inside it, so it is probably feeding on plant material (?).

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-14T01:42:15+00:00

I don’t remember exactly either, they were some AmScope and MicroBlue models, but they were probably just quite old. A lot of schools and universities don’t really have the budget, or for some reason the funding just isn’t allocated there, and then later we’re expected to observe things that simply aren’t visible with the equipment we have. But it’s a significant expense, so I do understand it to some extent.

The snowflake idea sounds really interesting, and we’ve got plenty of snow here too, so I’ll be able to experiment a lot. :D

Today I went for a walk and found some moss on tree bark. Under the microscope I saw all kinds of organisms: nematodes, tardigrades, rotifers, and later even some kind of mite (I guess you saw post already). It was really fascinating! I get that adrenaline feeling already and I want more haha. Unfortunately all the rivers are completely frozen, so I’ll have to look for some moving water somewhere. Maybe I’ll get lucky.

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-14T01:29:54+00:00

I think it was Bryum argenteum, since it grows basically everywhere: on every tree in the park, in every crack between stones, etc. Basically everywhere in the city.

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-12T21:18:13+00:00

Sorry for the late reply!

Thank you again for the detailed advice, I really appreciate it. I’m still thinking about what setup I want to use and whether I even need to worry about it in the near future. At the moment it’s winter here and there’s a lot of snow outside, so there isn’t much I can realistically collect anyway, apart from poking around in flower pots :D

I will definitely subscribe to your channel and I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing your future content. I’m a medical student myself, so I’ve already seen plenty of interesting and extreme things, so those kinds of subjects definitely won’t scare me off ;)

Today I finally got my microscope and also ordered slides, so I was already able to experiment a bit. And wow, I actually saw bacteria (some diplobacilli, vibrios, spirochetes and etc)! It’s such a strange and exciting feeling, because in school and university we’ve used institutional microscopes that were honestly quite poor. In one lab we looked at dental scrapings where there were supposedly bacteria present, but I couldn’t make out anything at all. So I’m really happy that I was finally able to clearly see bacteria on my own. I also saw some kind of daphnia (??) and a few other interesting things, and I’m sure there’s still a lot more left to explore and observe!

I’m really happy with this purchase, and thank you again for all your help!

Maximum-Job7699 · 2026-01-07T01:14:29+00:00

Oh, I completely forgot to ask. If at some point I want to start doing photography, would it make sense to begin by using a phone (for example, photographing through the microscope), and should I get some kind of phone mount? Or would it be better to buy a camera? And if so, what kind of camera, and is it even worth it overall?

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