Slide Mounting

No matter what the ostracod with carapace is preserved in, open carapace in ethanol. Store carapace in ethanol in tube, labeled with pencil on a piece of paper in the tube.

Transfer ostracod tissue to a slide with 2 drops of diluted (10 times) Hydro-matrix. Dissect off appendages in this non-toxic mount. When dissection is complete, add full concentration Hydro-matrix. If you are using the bigger cover slips (1" by 1.5") put 3 drops Hydro-matrix. If they are the smaller cover slips (1" by 1") put 2 drops Hydro-matrix. BEFORE putting cover slips on wait for the Hydro-matrix to dry for 5 minutes. This will keep the appendages from moving around in the mount, but still allow the cover slip to seal.

At this point you are done. There is no need to seal the cover slip more than this. Be careful because the Hydro-matrix is water soluble (a water drop will dissolve it). This is also good because a slide can be cleaned with a very small amount of water on a kim-wipe.