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Thread: Microscope Video. Need help identifying worm/flagellate in sick fish stool sample.

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    Registered Member fiftymeatballs's Avatar
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    Default Microscope Video. Need help identifying worm/flagellate in sick fish stool sample.



    Large adult discus with ulcerations in my QT. Just took this stool sample and it's teaming with life. Please help me identify what is going on.
    The fish is eating well, does not have white feces it's normal color but has thinned out dramatically over the past 6 months and now has 2 large ulcers that are currently healing after medicating with Furan-2. I need to treat my whole tank just want to make sure with the right meds.
    I just noticed today another one of my large males stopped eating. I have had these fish for 2 years.

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    Registered Member nc0gnet0's Avatar
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    Default Re: Microscope Video. Need help identifying worm/flagellate in sick fish stool sample

    At what magnification was this taken at, and was the poo sample fresh? You literally have to take it from the fish's anus to be of any help, samples taken from the tank floor are useless. Also, for comparative purposes, place a drop of tank water under the scope.
    Ex-President-North American Discus Association-NADA
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    Registered Member fiftymeatballs's Avatar
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    Default Re: Microscope Video. Need help identifying worm/flagellate in sick fish stool sample

    200x for the majority of the video, at one point i push in closer to 800x
    It was on the tank floor from today at some point.
    Bare bottom tank, been up and running for less than a month. 100% WC daily since there is no bio filter to support any ammonia.

    He is the only fish that has been in this tank. My 120 gallon where I pulled him from has a history of skin flukes but they look different imo.
    Another one of my discus has thinned out as well but no ulcers.
    Last edited by fiftymeatballs; 04-20-2015 at 10:05 PM.

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    Registered Member nc0gnet0's Avatar
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    Default Re: Microscope Video. Need help identifying worm/flagellate in sick fish stool sample

    It was on the tank floor from today at some point.
    As I suspected. Think absolutely nothing of anything you saw in that video. Look at a fresh sample. Samples taken off the floor are utterly useless.
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    Registered Member fiftymeatballs's Avatar
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    Default Re: Microscope Video. Need help identifying worm/flagellate in sick fish stool sample

    I grabbed a fresh sample today and did not see any of the tiny ovals zooming around in my slide. I did still see the same worm looking things with spots all over them. They seem to be eating the stool. Are they some type of protozoa? Anyone know what they are?

    I understand how contaminated older stool may be but I still feel I need to rule out what I'm seeing on the floor sample as well because if it's on the tank floor than it's in the tank and a possible suspect. Plus I would like to learn and know what it is for future reference.

    I received a private message saying Hexamita is likely in that slide. It was a thought but I'm ruling that out because none of my fish have white stool and I believe hex looks different than my slide.

    I am not ruling out TB since it's been in the back of my mind since I had a bad group of rainbows in my tank a year ago. I had to cull most since they started forming ulcers but unfortunately all of my other fish were exposed so I did not bother to do a full break down and there was no way I was about to cull all of my discus just on a assumption. It's too hard to diagnose. I had a few other rainbows from a different batch but in the same tank for a year now. 4 of the 5 are fine and look great. I actually culled one last night because his spine was starting to look deformed, not a good sign! But who is to say it isn't vitamin deficiency.

    With all that in mind now a year later I have a discus with 2 ulcers and a third developing. After a extended furan-2 treatment with salt for a month they seem to be healing slowly but are not bright red anymore and flakey. He is eating and seems happy but man he's hard to look at. I'll give him another couple of weeks to see if he improves. In the meantime I would like to treat my entire tank for preventative measures I just need to rule out 1 by 1 what it is not. TB is so far #1 on my list of what's going on. I think there may be other secondary infections.

    This is what you get for not following strict quarantine :/

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