Neat little gadget

Dembowski · Post by **Dembowski** » Sat May 20, 2006 12:35 pm

Here’s a little something for my fellow beginners who might be on the lookout for something different (and low tech) to try. It’s a micro-aquarium from Carolina Biological Supply. The chamber that holds the specimens can be removed from its stand and placed directly on the microscope stage so that you can watch the occupants as they develop over time. At about $4 a pop, I can’t resist it. (I have no stake in this company or any of its products):

More complete info at:
https://www2.carolina.com/webapp/wcs/st ... =&crumbs=n
____________________
Bill Dembowski
"It's alive .... It's alive !!!!

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sat May 20, 2006 1:16 pm

Well if that isn't a novel little gadget.

I am sure it has some benifits for low power observation Bill, up to about 100X I would imagine. You know you can do pretty much the same thing with a "well-slide" or concave slide. Just add a ring of vaseline around and away from the well, add your pond life critters and gently seal with a cover glass or cover slip, as I call them, and they will last for days or sometimes weeks.

However this does away with messy vaseline preps. so I might be ideal for some folks. Still a handy little gadget. Thanks for the post Bill!

Dembowski · Post by **Dembowski** » Sun May 21, 2006 5:38 pm

Ken .... I have read about the well slide/Vaseline method but have never actually tried it. I kinda like the larger size and ready-made aspect of this item. (Of course, having arthritis determines how you perceive a lot of things.) In any event, I’ll probably spring for a couple of these and let the group know how they work out.

Red Seven · Post by **Red Seven** » Sun May 21, 2006 6:48 pm

Now that looks like a neat little arrangement! I have a list of stuff I want to order from the Canadian site for Carolina and I'm going to add several of those.
It has me thinking too about how I can make my own with a larger capacity than the 5ml that it says these will hold. It would be nice to add some of the detritus that the creatures like to live in and feed on and I'm not sure how much you could get into one of these. I'm automatically thinking of my plastic petri dishes althought there isn't a good seal on the lids and they would have to be taped.
Any creative suggestions for ideas on what I could move the contents of my "Jam Jar Aquariums" to so that I could view specimens right in their little enviroments rather than plucking them out?
I've found that viewing these guys on the stereo microscope is just as interesting as under the compound!

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sun May 21, 2006 7:10 pm

Red Seven wrote:

It would be nice to add some of the detritus that the creatures like to live in and feed on and I'm not sure how much you could get into one of these.

It should not take much for them to live on, a little will go a long way. Petri dishes should work well and the lids do not have to be sealed. You would want some air to get into there and keep them in a well lit area but not in direct sunlight. In a dark or dim area you may have a problem with molds.

I would also advise using magnifications no more than 100X (10X objective) since these organisms will be able to swim freely up and down. Keeping them in focus will become a chore with higher magnifications. Actually 100X maybe a bit high. Low power objectives in the 2.5X up to 5X range would probably be best.