The close-up of close-ups...aquariums under the microscope!

Amphiprionocellaris · 07/01/2008, 03:00 PM

Hey everyone!

I've recently taken a job in a lab which is equipped with a number of imaging scopes, and it was only a matter of time before I decided to have some fun with my tanks

. I still need some practice taking pictures of the more mobile animals, but here is the first batch.

Enjoy!

A copepod at 100x

A spicule at 400x

Hair algae at 100x

Some diatoms at 200x

A lone diatom at 400x

Another diatom at 200x

Finally, a mat of cyanobacteria at 400x...you can see that's it not as solid as it looks!

There's plenty of down time in the lab, so look for more super-close-ups in the future

.

P.S. For the curious, I just used an eyedropper to grab samples from my 10 gallon tank and place them on slides.

kar93 · 07/01/2008, 03:33 PM

Interesting pics, Thanks for sharing.

TitusvileSurfer · 07/01/2008, 03:42 PM

Great Job! I can only imagine what these things must look like alive and swimming around.

Amphiprionocellaris · 07/01/2008, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TitusvileSurfer
Great Job! I can only imagine what these things must look like alive and swimming around.

Thanks! It's actually pretty amazing to see...and the pictures only represent the slower animals. There's so much stuff zooming around that it was a little overwhelming at first. Hopefully I'll be able to refine my technique enough to get shots of those, too.

Letmegrow · 07/01/2008, 10:32 PM

If you can get some of the medusa sage of Hydroids they are amazing to look at and easy to catch when they settle on the glass.

kactusficus · 07/02/2008, 01:17 AM

Very interesting!

The cyano looks very delicate and beautiful, lol, not the pest I thought it was!

Amphiprionocellaris · 07/02/2008, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Letmegrow
If you can get some of the medusa sage of Hydroids they are amazing to look at and easy to catch when they settle on the glass.

We actually get live hydra as part of our zoology course, and they're definitely on the list of things to get images of

!

fatrip · 07/02/2008, 08:55 AM

very cool. thanks for sharing....looking foward to seeing more.

Amphiprionocellaris · 07/02/2008, 01:30 PM

I took some new samples today, this time from one of my 140 gallon reefs. It's a more mature tank than the nano, and the microscopic community is very different! Tomorrow I'm going to try getting samples from my predator tank and my ten year old reef.

To start things off, some bubble algae [not so delicately smashed] at 100x

A top-down view of a copepod at 100x...and you can see how they got the common name "cyclops".

And I thought my water was clean...this 100x view of a drop collected from my refugium begs to differ...

Some more diatoms at 200x

A red flatworm at 40x...the green dots are chloroplasts and a clue to why the population exploded under metal halides.

I'm not entirely sure what's going on here...those projections are either part of the hair algae or diatoms living on its surface...100x.

A very wild-looking segmented worm, or possibly an arthropod

...40x.

Some beautiful red algae at 200x.

red13miller · 07/02/2008, 02:37 PM

very cool

sassafrass · 07/03/2008, 07:22 PM

Love those pics more! more!
Lee

ClarionAngel · 07/03/2008, 08:07 PM

Very nice and interesting pictures.

brad2048 · 07/03/2008, 09:04 PM

very cool!

Jeff cousteau · 07/03/2008, 09:22 PM

wicked job man

kinda scares me a bit tho.... really gonna start washing my hands a ltille better after I'm done working on/in my tank

footbagger311 · 07/05/2008, 04:42 PM

That is pretty tight. I wonder what some coralline would look like.

stdreb27 · 07/07/2008, 12:16 PM

That is awesome, keep em coming!

crvz · 07/07/2008, 02:27 PM

great pictures, thanks for sharing!

spline9 · 07/09/2008, 05:30 PM

Kinda makes you think twice about starting a siphon with your mouth again, huh?

melev · 07/10/2008, 12:00 AM

Cool beans! PM sent.

kactusficus · 07/10/2008, 03:22 AM

Wow, that's definitely makes me want to get a microscope for next christmas!! Beautiful images, and it must be very thrilling to see all this life moving under your eye!!
thanks a lot for sharing!

this is me · 07/11/2008, 12:15 PM

These are pretty neat. Thanks for sharing.

nrike · 07/15/2008, 06:25 PM

great pictures, lets see more.

hatfielj · 07/15/2008, 07:13 PM

Great thread! This is exactly why I've always wanted to buy a nice microscope. There's so much more life in our tanks that we don't even see on a day to day basis. Thanks for sharing!

Nick Fr. · 07/17/2008, 08:36 AM

wow great pics

Nick Fr. · 07/17/2008, 08:36 AM

wow great pics

07/01/2008, 03:00 PM	#1
Amphiprionocellaris Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Athens, GA Posts: 588	The close-up of close-ups...aquariums under the microscope! Hey everyone! I've recently taken a job in a lab which is equipped with a number of imaging scopes, and it was only a matter of time before I decided to have some fun with my tanks. I still need some practice taking pictures of the more mobile animals, but here is the first batch. Enjoy! A copepod at 100x A spicule at 400x Hair algae at 100x Some diatoms at 200x A lone diatom at 400x Another diatom at 200x Finally, a mat of cyanobacteria at 400x...you can see that's it not as solid as it looks! There's plenty of down time in the lab, so look for more super-close-ups in the future. P.S. For the curious, I just used an eyedropper to grab samples from my 10 gallon tank and place them on slides. __________________ Some of us are obsessed with the hobby...some of us just can't control it...those are the ones who get their PhD in it... Current Tank Info: 1 40 gallon breeder mixed reef; past tanks: 75 gallon mixed reef, 3 140 gallon mixed reefs, 3 10 gallon nano species/coral displays, 2 30 gallon reefs, 4 10 gallon research tanks

07/01/2008, 03:42 PM	#3
TitusvileSurfer Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Titusville, FL Posts: 3,227	Great Job! I can only imagine what these things must look like alive and swimming around. __________________ The ocean is the pinnacle of reef tanks. Someone up there is keeping up with his PH and Phosphates to.

07/01/2008, 10:32 PM	#5
Letmegrow Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: The Hill Posts: 4,740	If you can get some of the medusa sage of Hydroids they are amazing to look at and easy to catch when they settle on the glass. __________________ I'll be just fine pretending I'm not. Understand, Contempt born of clear perception is a birthright to those who channel it toward progression.

07/02/2008, 01:17 AM	#6
kactusficus More is not enough Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Nice, France Posts: 225	Very interesting! The cyano looks very delicate and beautiful, lol, not the pest I thought it was! __________________ Colours Patterns Shapes Behaviors... OMG I'm mad about the Reef! Current Tank Info: fish and LPS lover, but still improving the display

07/02/2008, 08:55 AM	#8
fatrip Yup That Stuff Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: , ny Posts: 4,317	very cool. thanks for sharing....looking foward to seeing more. __________________ Vince "We learn from history that we never learn anything from history." Hegel

07/01/2008, 03:33 PM	#2
kar93 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Lincoln Posts: 5,521	Interesting pics, Thanks for sharing.

07/02/2008, 01:30 PM	#9
Amphiprionocellaris Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Athens, GA Posts: 588	Next batch I took some new samples today, this time from one of my 140 gallon reefs. It's a more mature tank than the nano, and the microscopic community is very different! Tomorrow I'm going to try getting samples from my predator tank and my ten year old reef. To start things off, some bubble algae [not so delicately smashed] at 100x A top-down view of a copepod at 100x...and you can see how they got the common name "cyclops". And I thought my water was clean...this 100x view of a drop collected from my refugium begs to differ... Some more diatoms at 200x A red flatworm at 40x...the green dots are chloroplasts and a clue to why the population exploded under metal halides. I'm not entirely sure what's going on here...those projections are either part of the hair algae or diatoms living on its surface...100x. A very wild-looking segmented worm, or possibly an arthropod...40x. Some beautiful red algae at 200x. __________________ Some of us are obsessed with the hobby...some of us just can't control it...those are the ones who get their PhD in it... Current Tank Info: 1 40 gallon breeder mixed reef; past tanks: 75 gallon mixed reef, 3 140 gallon mixed reefs, 3 10 gallon nano species/coral displays, 2 30 gallon reefs, 4 10 gallon research tanks

07/02/2008, 02:37 PM	#10
red13miller Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Kansas Posts: 213	very cool __________________ Rock Chalk Jayhawk

07/03/2008, 07:22 PM	#11
sassafrass Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: capitola ca Posts: 1,729	Love those pics more! more! Lee

07/03/2008, 08:07 PM	#12
ClarionAngel Moved On Join Date: May 2008 Location: South Carolina Posts: 34	Very nice and interesting pictures.

07/03/2008, 09:04 PM	#13
brad2048 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: st. petersburg, fl Posts: 233	very cool!

07/03/2008, 09:22 PM	#14
Jeff cousteau Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Truro,Nova Scotia,Canada Posts: 232	wicked job man kinda scares me a bit tho.... really gonna start washing my hands a ltille better after I'm done working on/in my tank

07/05/2008, 04:42 PM	#15
footbagger311 Lover of Reefs and Reefer Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: North Charleston, SC Posts: 382	That is pretty tight. I wonder what some coralline would look like. __________________ "Stay Positive and Love Your Life" Current Tank Info: I don't have one now. :-(

07/07/2008, 12:16 PM	#16
stdreb27 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: the Anthill, Houston, tx Posts: 507	That is awesome, keep em coming!

07/07/2008, 02:27 PM	#17
crvz Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: houstonia Posts: 7,989	great pictures, thanks for sharing! __________________ -Chris- You don't win friends with salad. "Look! They're trying to learn for free!" ... "Use your phony guns as clubs!" Current Tank Info: rectangluar? wet?

07/09/2008, 05:30 PM	#18
spline9 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ventura County Posts: 808	Kinda makes you think twice about starting a siphon with your mouth again, huh?

07/10/2008, 12:00 AM	#19
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	Cool beans! PM sent.

07/10/2008, 03:22 AM	#20
kactusficus More is not enough Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Nice, France Posts: 225	Wow, that's definitely makes me want to get a microscope for next christmas!! Beautiful images, and it must be very thrilling to see all this life moving under your eye!! thanks a lot for sharing! __________________ Colours Patterns Shapes Behaviors... OMG I'm mad about the Reef! Current Tank Info: fish and LPS lover, but still improving the display

07/11/2008, 12:15 PM	#21
this is me Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: MA Posts: 4,074	These are pretty neat. Thanks for sharing. __________________ Nick When a man talks dirty to a woman, it's sexual harassment. When a woman talks dirty to a man, it's $4.95 per minute. Current Tank Info: Miracle 360 gallons

07/15/2008, 06:25 PM	#22
nrike Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: cerritos ca Posts: 432	great pictures, lets see more. __________________ NemoHoes Current Tank Info: 120g mix

07/15/2008, 07:13 PM	#23
hatfielj Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,234	Great thread! This is exactly why I've always wanted to buy a nice microscope. There's so much more life in our tanks that we don't even see on a day to day basis. Thanks for sharing!

07/17/2008, 08:36 AM	#24
Nick Fr. Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Dayton, Ohio Posts: 67	wow great pics