Microscope Update

After some refreshers on how to set up a wet slide and after practicing the scope on various pond scum organisms, I finally hit pay dirt earlier tonight. I had been trying to get/find a good sperm sample from any of my males the past few weeks, but I was stopped out in this endeavor. Tonight I threw in my oldest male(12 years) with my number four female. I had thought about holding this girl back this year from breeding, but she has really been eating like a pig the last few weeks so tonight was her lucky night. The pair almost immediately hooked up. After about a half hour hookup, the male left a nice looking sperm plug on the paper towel in the cage. Talk about excitement. I rushed into action and set up the microscope.

It took a few minutes to finally find what I was looking for, but I finally got to see some Agalma living sperm, LOL! It was exciting to see all those little swimmers looking for an egg to fertilize. I would find them in pockets on the wet slide, but I'm pretty sure this boy will produce some babies this year. It will be interesting to see what the fertility rate will be for this girl this year. I'm just wondering if I need to see many more little swimmers on the slide or if this will do the job. It's my first time looking at this so time will tell.