MICROSCOPES

[Mmathis]

I suppose this falls under the category of "equipment."

My thanks to Dave54 for starting me on this cool scientific journey! My poor little fish don't know what adventures are ahead for them (veiled sarcasm).

Let me start out by saying that I want to get a microscope. I would like to be able to check for fishy parasites, if & when that time ever comes. I come from a medical background, so this is kinda exciting -- though college microbiology was many years ago!

I GOOGLED "what to look for" when purchasing a scope, so have a basic idea. And I'm a "buy-it-new" gal, so there might be bargains out there, but I'll stick with new. There were some decently inexpensive ones listed. And it looks like the scopes in the "student" range of quality would suit my needs. Compound, high-power, single eye-piece, LED lighting.

A few questions, though, for those of you who use microscopes. What power? Is 400 OK -- would I ever need more just to look at fish bugs? Anything special (features) to look for and/or stay away from? Any scopes that you've had good or bad experiences with?

So, almost time to go shopping! Fishies, BEWARE! Test subjects needed! [Or maybe I could float some kitty stools.... Gross!]

 

[fishin4cars]

TM, 400x is really all you need for most pond related things you'll be looking for. Lighted type of microscope is almost a must. LED is best as it doesn't create as much heat and does give a little more time for viewing the subject before over heating but it's not a must. Most people that already have microscopes will be using one with a halogen lamp as LED type have just been being introduced over the last few years. The biggest thing YOU want to to figure out is single optic or bi focal optics. Each person has different ways of focusing. I prefer bi focal, but many people prefer single optics as they seem to be able to focus in better using one eye of the other.
For a test subject just use a drop of pond water. You'll be surprised at what all you will find in a single drop of pond water. another test subject that is very interesting is algae. String algae, and blanket algae quite often co-exist side by side, and some people think they are one in the same, however once viewed you will see they look quite different under a scope.
Be sure when you get your scope you get some glass slides and cover slips. I also recommend getting a eye dropper, and a pair of pointed tip tweezers and a small set of the smallest scissors possible, medical type is best. Pointed tip Scissors come in quite handy for snipping tiny pieces off the gills for checking gill flukes, also they come in very handy for other things such as but not limited to. Taking hair or shell clippings ( Checking pets other than fish) the pointed tip helps if you need to move something on the slide, plus it's helpful if you need to cut a smaller sample for viewing. Tweezers aren't a bad idea along with a small scapulae but aren't absolutely needed. Note on the eye dropper. It is important to add one drop of water to each scrape you do on a fish. This keeps the things on the slide moist and allows them to live a little longer and gives you more time to view the slide.
Here is a great youtube video that shows how to scrape and scope. The link is part one of a two part video that was made by DallasKoiKichi club.

 

[Mmathis]

Larkin, thanks a bunch for the tips! Things I wouldn't have thought of 'till I needed them, like the dropper & tweezers.

Still undecided on the eye piece, but leaning toward mono just as a cost-cutter. Plus I think I am fairly right-eye dominant, so mono shouldn't be a problem.

As to adding a drop of water to the specimen, do you use pond water, or tap water? Would pond water introduce "artifacts" to the "thing" you're trying to look at?

And last, but no least.... Clipping (snipping) pieces of the gill? You really have to do that, and not just take a scraping? Ooh, I'd be afraid to do that without some training.

No video link

 

[fishin4cars]

Sorry TM, The link should be up now. You want to use pond water. That's another reason to start with pond water to get some practice, this way you can see what is in the pond water before you start on a fish. And yes everything I have read and been taught says to use pond water. IF not then I would use bottled water not tap.
On the gill clipping. Gill clippings are to check for Gill flukes. If you have to check for them you will have noticed a problem before hand, Gasping at the surface or fish dying. So you want have nearly the issue to check them if needed, a very small clipping is all that is needed. I was told to clip just a tiny section from the gill closest to the plate as these are the most susceptible and also the fastest to regenerate. When you do scrape the video's will teach you to take a scraping from just behind the gill plate. IF there are gill flukes you may actually find them there and not need to take a gill clipping.

 

[Dave 54]

Larkin many thanx for posting this video clip it shows just what Microscopes are used for in fish/koi keeping I hope many of the more senior members of this forum will give this a go and discover a world within your pond that many dont know about but once discovered aid us in our endevours to keep our fish heathly

rgrds.

Dave

 

[HTH]

I have wanted to do scrapes for a while. Purchased a microscope a while back but have not given it a go. I should give it a try prior to putting the fish in their new homes.

 

[Mmathis]

This one was good, too, and even showed how to take a gill sample.

 

[Dave 54]

Brilliant and well instructive video recording Turtle Mommy.

rgrds

Dave

 

[fishin4cars]

Dave, You know I can relate to many about being nervous to scrape and scope a Koi. It can be quite intimidating for someone that has never done it before. I have brought up in many posts that proper identification is a key to curing and treating most koi illnesses. Yet most don't own a microscope and if they do they have no clue how to scrape or what to look for. These video links really help show that's it's not that hard of a process to learn.
If there are three things I could recommend to a new Koi or Pond keeper to learn this would be the three most important in order of importance that unfortunately some simply overlook or wish to omit until a problem starts.
Water testing, Learning how to test, what test kits give best results, and how to adjust water for optimum quality.
Quarantine, Isolating new fish and maintaining them before adding to the rest of the herd.
Scope and scraping fish.
These together can be a fairly large investment to make for the average pond keeper. However, learning these and actually doing them can save a pond keeper a lot of money and heart aches when it comes to keeping their prize pets healthy. When/If you do ever get to the point of wanting a higher quality show fish these steps can cost less than ONE replacement fish.

 

[Mmathis]

Of the sites I googled, this seemed the most straight forward as far as explaining what to look for in a scope.

http://blog.makezine.com/choosing-a-microscope/

Oh, and just remembered that I have a friend [one of our Scout's moms] who works in a biology lab at the Bio-Med. Center here. Just shot her an email. She might have access to stuff that I wouldn't find ordinarily over the internet.