We have Care Guides which provide information for the care and handling of many of
our organisms. See our full selection of Care Guides.
Ordering and Delivery
material delivered?
A: Yes, all living material orders require a delivery date. If you do not specify a date, you
will receive a notification that we will hold your living material until we receive a date for
shipping. If you order non-living items within the same order, these items will ship once
the order is processed.
Algae, Protists, and Bacteria
Q: How long are my algae/protist/bacteria cultures viable, and how do I store
them?
A: In general, bacteria cultures are viable for 2–3 weeks with caps loosened and stored
at room temperature. For algae and protozoa, the cultures are viable for 5–6 days with
caps loosened and stored at room temperature. There are exceptions, but customers
should receive other instructions with those specific products. For more information,
check out our product care guides.
Q: How many organisms are in a live culture of bacteria, algae, or protozoa?
A: We are not able to provide organism counts on live cultures. We do advise that at
least 30 students should be able to take a sample, place it on a slide, and view the
organism
Q: How long can I keep my protozoan cultures before using them?
A: If possible, use them within 2–3 days of receipt. Most protozoan cultures will remain
useable for a week or longer.
Q: Will the protozoan cultures last longer if kept in the refrigerator?
A: We do not recommend refrigeration or rapid temperature changes of any kind for our
protozoan cultures.
Q: Are these protozoans dangerous?
A: No, the protozoans in our collection are for general classroom use. They are not
parasitic or pathogenic in any way.
A: Remove the cultures from their shipping container and care for them as directed in
the Immediate care and handling section. Do not leave them in the unopened shipping
container. Photosynthetic forms need light. Heterotrophic forms are shipped with
enough food in their jar to maintain the culture for an extended period of time. You may
even find that the cultures improve when left over the weekend because they have had
time to recover from the shipping process.
Q: My students are not finding any protozoans. What should I do?
A: The culture may need to be agitated to redistribute the protozoans. Ensure students
are following the sampling procedures described in the sampling and observation
section. Protozoan species differ greatly in size. If students have previously observed
larger protozoa, such as Paramecium, remind them to look for smaller organisms when
searching for Euglena. Examine the culture under a stereomicroscope to locate areas
where protozoans are concentrated and direct students to collect samples from those
areas.
Q: We used Protoslo®, but now the protozoans are all at the edge of the coverslip
and some have even been squeezed out completely from under the coverslip.
What can I do?
A: If the Protoslo® and culture water are not thoroughly mixed, the thicker Protoslo® will
displace the water and protozoans when the coverslip is added. If this occurred, clean
the slide and start over, being sure to thoroughly mix the Protoslo® and culture water
before adding the coverslip to the slide.
Materials Disposal
Q: How do I dispose of used microbiology materials?
A: The most effective way to kill microbes is to autoclave all materials. In the absence of
an autoclave, materials can be covered in a 10% bleach solution or 70% ethanol
overnight, placed in a sealable bag, and discarded in the solid waste bin.
Painted Lady Larvae/Caterpillars
Q: My painted lady larvae/caterpillars have not made chrysalis yet, and it has
been over a week. What do I do?
A: The larvae will mature in 5–10 days. Sometimes it takes longer than that. The growth
process is highly dependent on temperature and also on what stage the larvae were
when they were sent to you. As long as the caterpillars are growing and are not showing
signs of drying out, they should reach the chrysalis stage soon. It is normal for all of the food to be consumed. We send more than enough food, calorie-wise, for the caterpillars to complete the chrysalis stage. Check out the painted lady care guide.
Tadpoles
Q: What kind of tadpoles did you send me?
A: We do not track which type of tadpoles go into a specific order. The type of tadpoles
in each order is identified on the bag label.
Q: How long will it take my tadpoles to turn into frogs?
A: Spring peeper and toad tadpoles transform into small adults in 6–8 weeks. Other
species, including Xenopus, take 10–14 weeks. Bullfrog tadpoles may take 4–18
months to metamorphose. General guidelines on metamorphosis time are in the FAQ
section of the tadpole care guide.
Plants
Q: Why is my plant dark or brown?
A: Depending on the time of year and the location your plant was collected from, it may
appear dark or brown in color. Unless the plant is also falling apart or mushy to the
touch, it is perfectly healthy. Your plant will continue to turn greener given time and
enough light.
Problems?
We hope not, but if so, contact us. We want you to have a good experience.
Orders and replacements: 800.334.5551, then select Customer Service.
Technical support and questions: caresheets@carolina.com