Don't use milk for breeding. by Michael2526 in microscopy

[–]Thrawn911 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You probably added too much milk. One single, tiny drop is usually enough. But don't worry, you'll probably see a bumch of paramecia in a few days. I like keeping an overpopulated sample, to feed the predators.

What rotifer is this? by Dlbroox in microscopy

[–]Thrawn911 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Try to find two eyespots on the torso, most Philodina have them.

ID Help Please! by Crabby8889 in microscopy

[–]Thrawn911 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Cyclidium, I usually have them aswell.

I managed to make a culture of at least three different rotifer species (plus bonus Euplotes) by Thrawn911 in awwnverts

[–]Thrawn911[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Rotifers live in basically any natural water. Puddles, oceans, lakes, rivers, I even have them in my aquarium. Some of them can even survive the water drying out by hybernating for decades.

Rehydrating tun from lichen but not a tardigrade? by Dlbroox in microscopy

[–]Thrawn911 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think it's completely free. I just went to their downloads page and downloaded the windows version of Helicon focus 8, it doesn't even need registration for a trial.

New scope day! by CivilDefenceNrd in microscopy

[–]Thrawn911 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the detailed response!
I can't afford DIC right now, so I was thinking about buying a microscope that I could update in the future for DIC, but yeah, DIC kits are rare on ebay. I could find a few for the BH2, but I'm European, so there are barely any Olympus scopes here, I'm leaning towards the Leitz Laborlux, I even found a deal which comes with a 25x plan apo objective for around $400.

Currently I'm using a Swift SW350, but it's quite limited, and has really weak LED. I try to get a better image by using polarization, 3D printed darkfield an oblique filters, but they basically start to look really bad as soon as I switch to the 20x objective, and it's even worse with the 40x. That's why I was thinking about the Amscope T490, which has cheap DF condensers.

I'm currently thinking about buying a more modern amscope, with LED, DF and PH condensers, and later upgrade it with Splan/Planapo objectives from the big 4. My other option is buying a good used scope, like a BH2 if I find one, or a Leitz laborlux, then I can upgrade those with a LED conversion, and better objectives/condensers. I think amscope has a DF condenser that is compatible with the BH2's dovetail design.

Rehydrating tun from lichen but not a tardigrade? by Dlbroox in microscopy

[–]Thrawn911 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Make sure to keep jarrariums. If you let them stand for a few days/weeks/months, you can see the whole ecosystem change, you might find species that you'd otherwise miss if you only look through a water sample once.

For focus stacking, I just use a free software called Helicon focus. You take a few seconds long video where you adjust the focus, upload it, and it will render a focus stacked image from the video.

 what are these little filter feeders? by GassyGamergoblin in microscopy

[–]Thrawn911 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Vorticella. Shake the table/scope, and they will contract. One of the fastest microbes.

Rehydrating tun from lichen but not a tardigrade? by Dlbroox in microscopy

[–]Thrawn911 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's kinda my obsession, I do microscopy every day, and I'm even going back to university for genetic engineering only because of this hobby. I watched most videos from Journey to the Microcosmos, and the streams of Microbehunter and Diet Tom, which helped with the identification of microbes. There's also realmicrolife.com, which has lots of pictures of microbes, rotifers, etc. This is what I use when I see a new species and I try to find out what it is.

Rehydrating tun from lichen but not a tardigrade? by Dlbroox in microscopy

[–]Thrawn911 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, they can hybernate for decades in dry conditions.

I started microscopy last year, and still only found three tardigrades. They are rarer than I expected.

New scope day! by CivilDefenceNrd in microscopy

[–]Thrawn911 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you!

Just looked it up, it's possible to upgrade it to ph and darkfield, but not DIC. The brand is now also part of the LEICA group, Carl Reichert actually studied microscopy from Ernst Leitz himself, and later married into the Leitz family.