microscope recommendation
- Thread starter BichirKing
- Start date
I use this one: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B005TJ5CEG/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza
It's an Omax M82ES. I think it's perfect and allows me to see every type of parasites clearly, so you don't need anything higher priced than that. There are compound microscopes and stereo microscopes. To diagnose fish diseases, you need a compound microscope. Just make sure to have a double layer mechanical stage (the knobs that allow you to move the slide left to right and front to back with precision so you can scan the full slide correctly). And make sure you have a 10x eyepiece with objectives 4x, 10x and 40x. This gives you a magnification of 40x, 100x and 400x and that is all you need to see fish parasites. The microscope I have also have 1000x, but you don't need that one for parasites.
It's an Omax M82ES. I think it's perfect and allows me to see every type of parasites clearly, so you don't need anything higher priced than that. There are compound microscopes and stereo microscopes. To diagnose fish diseases, you need a compound microscope. Just make sure to have a double layer mechanical stage (the knobs that allow you to move the slide left to right and front to back with precision so you can scan the full slide correctly). And make sure you have a 10x eyepiece with objectives 4x, 10x and 40x. This gives you a magnification of 40x, 100x and 400x and that is all you need to see fish parasites. The microscope I have also have 1000x, but you don't need that one for parasites.
That one is nice! Might put that on my wish list!
I just use my daughters amscope. It isn’t fancy and only has one eye piece, but it does the job. It was pretty cheap too.
thanks I will look for those options. the one you provided I will look into its just a bit more than I thought i'd spend but it looks good! just might have to bite the bullet!
This one doesn't have a mechanical stage, that's why it's a lot less expensive. That means you have to move the slide with your fingers. This would be a good microscope if you were for example looking at the general structure of a bit of lettuce. But when you're scanning for parasites, you need to be able to move the slide with precision, especially when you're trying to look at a tiny moving protozoa at 400x. I couldn't imagine trying to adjust the slide with my fingers at 400x, where you need a lot of precision. With this microscope, you might be able to see parasites that are easy to find, like when you have a heavy infestation of capillaria, there are eggs EVERYWHERE and they're impossible to miss. But if you are looking for something that is harder to find, like spironucleus, or if your fish has just a few parasites, you need to be able to adjust the slide with precision to scan correctly. Most de-wormers don't have a 100% kill rate, so you need to scan the slides very carefully after treating your fish to see if there are a few eggs remaining, sometimes you might find only 5 eggs, and you would easily miss them if you're moving the slide with your fingers.
I have access to microscopes that I use daily for analysis of air samples at my work. I know how to prepare my air for analysis but what about fish slides? How does one go about preparing a slide from a fish?
I also use a green filter on my microscope, would I need to remove it for fish samples?
I also use a green filter on my microscope, would I need to remove it for fish samples?
Pick up the fish's feces with an eyedropper (if the feces are small or easily break apart) or tweezers (for feces that are too big to fit in the eyedropper), then put them on a slide. Then use the tip of the eyedropper or the tweezers to break up the feces (you won't be able to see through them if you don't break them up, they will be too thick). Put a slide cover on top and you're ready to examine them with the microscope. You don't need to use any filters.
You can see how to prepare the slide to examine the feces here:
To do a skin scrape for external parasites, take the fish out of the water and, holding a slide cover at a 45-degree angle, gently run it along the side of the fish on the lateral line, near the base of its fins and near the gill plates. Add a drop of tank water on your slide and put the slide cover with the mucus on the slide. You need to examine this one immediately or the parasites might die and some of them will be hard to see if they are not moving.
You can see how to do a skin scrape here:
When scanning for parasites, first look at the feces quickly at 40x to see if there's anything obvious. Then look at the feces at 100x. Start at one corner of the slide, and scan methodically from left to right, then down one row and right to left, and do this for the whole slide while adjusting the focus in and out to see what's on top and what's on the bottom. If you see anything suspicious, center it and go to 400x to identify it.