Subject: Re: vorticella

From: [email-masked] (Jari Oksanen)
Date: Sun, 27 Aug 1995 17:34:38

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (MCNolan) writes:

>>[email-masked] (Petur Henry Petersen) writes:
>>can anyone tell me where to get Vorticella.
>>I think "it" is an algae but at least a waterplant of some kind.
>>sorry about my ignorance.

>_Vorticella_ is a protozoan, not an alga.  A symbiotic algae, _Chlorella_,
>resides within the vacuoles of the _Vorticella_ and gives it its green
>color.  The botany textbook, "Biology of Plants" by Raven, Evert and
>Eichhorn, 5th edition, has a picture of both of them on page 246.

>Sorry, I do not know where you can get either organism!

Try the nearest home aquarium. In lack of microscope, get a piece of some 
water plant and put it in a slide frame (with glasses, naturally) and project 
to the wall. Vorticella is very common in aquaria, and relatively big, so it 
is easy to spot. Slide project is not enough to see what are the granules 
within Vorticellae, but you can see the granulese, though.
--- Jari Oksanen, Tromssa, Ruija / Romsa, Norga / Tromsø, Norge

---

From: [email-masked] (dan holiday)
Date: 29 Aug 1995 02:34:32 GMT

Jari Oksanen ([email-masked]) wrote:
: In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (MCNolan) writes:

: >>[email-masked] (Petur Henry Petersen) writes:
: >>can anyone tell me where to get Vorticella.
: >>I think "it" is an algae but at least a waterplant of some kind.
: >>sorry about my ignorance.

: >_Vorticella_ is a protozoan, not an alga.  A symbiotic algae, _Chlorella_,
: >resides within the vacuoles of the _Vorticella_ and gives it its green
: >color.  The botany textbook, "Biology of Plants" by Raven, Evert and
: >Eichhorn, 5th edition, has a picture of both of them on page 246.

: >Sorry, I do not know where you can get either organism!

: Try the nearest home aquarium. 

Another way to "find" them is by beginning your own infusion culture.  
These are easily created by taking a handfull of hay or other such dry
grass and adding it to a glass jar 3/4 filled with water, then waiting
for a week or two.  The jar should hold at least one litre of water, 
preferably two or more.  Keep it in a well lit room, but away from direct 
sunlight.  These and other protozoans of a seemingly infinite 
variety (included will be a good many small metazoans) will amaze you 
with their diversity and numbers.  The _Vorticella_ attach themselves 
to a substrate by a stalk, to find them faster be certain to get a 
small piece of the organic matter used as starter material on the 
slide when viewing.  Inspect the culture at intervals of a few days, 
or a week, and you will see a succession of life that will fascinate 
you for a long time if cared for properly and not allowed to dessicate.  

They also may be found living symbiotically on the appendages of small
aquatic crustaceans, such as amphipods, in quiet freshwaters.   

Happy hunting.

Dan

: --- Jari Oksanen, Tromssa, Ruija / Romsa, Norga / Tromsø, Norge