brewmaster15
04-05-2002, 09:01 AM
Microscopes..... What the fish hobbyist/breeder needs to know about them.
by Al Sabetta 3/2002
I was recently asked about microscopes for the hobbyist/ breeder of fish. Admittedly, I have mixed feelings on the use of microscopes by hobbyist and breeders to identify pathogens. As a biologist I use a microscope daily in my work. It is an excellent tool to aid in the identification of a pathogen or to characterize anything too small to be clearly seen by the human eye. It has limitations though as it is only a tool. In order for it to be useful one needs to take the time to learn how to use it, and how to identify what it is you are lookin at. This is not always as easy as it sounds. And is in a reality a very large time investment. For example...Some organisms need to be stained with the correct stains to visualize, some samples need to be taken directly from the affected animal (gill scrapes from fish, for flukes), Some fecal samples need to be freshly collected or non-pathogenic organisms can contaminate them. Sometimes a fish will need to be sacrificed, and there is always the chance the disease is a zoonosis (disease humans can contract from animals) such as fish tuberculosis.(http://medicine.bu.edu/dshapiro/zoofish.htm)
There is no doubt that if one wants to learn about the parasites, how to process them, and how to identify them with a scope that this is very useful tool and worth the investment of several hundred dollars- thousands. The first question one needs to ask is am I going to really take the time to learn about this tool and learn about the various diseases affecting my fish? if you answer no the see the links below to "Symptom based treatment of disease" If you answered yes then I would look over all the links given here. I would also go to used book shops, or college campus bookstores, and look for used textbooks on parasitology. They do not have to be fish specific. Most parasites belong to a group that are physically very similar, yet attack various species of vertebrates. Books that are specifically written for fish diseases generally lack the details to make a microscopic evaluation. They are usually geared towards making a symptom based assessment (otherwise known as ....educated guess). Other recommendations would be to take a class on general parasitology.
If after all this consideration you are still interested in getting a microscope, then make a list of the diseases you are interested and next to each research its size and any special processing, light, filters, lens that are reccommended (see the links below) Be sure to purchase the scope that will give you the magnification you need. For example gill flukes are best viewed at 40-100X whereas most fungus can be identified at 20-40X.. Once you have gotten a scope, experiment before you need it. Go to a pet shop and buy fish that are visible diseased and try to identify what is wrong with them and treat accordingly . If you can do this then you will be better equipped to solve a probelm in your tanks.
Links for techniques...
http://www.mwrn.com/guide/light_microscopy/microscope.htm
http://www.microimaging.ca/
http://www.ou.edu/research/electron/www-vl/
http://www.durr.demon.co.uk/
http://microscopeworld.com/resource/resource-b.htm
http://www.msa.microscopy.com/
Links for purchasing....
http://www.premieremicroscopes.com/breeders.htm
http://www.kaker.com/mvd/products/lightm.html
http://www.kaker.com/mvd/used_equip.html
http://www.wlamicro.com/
http://www.microscopesfromnightingale.com/
http://www.buntgrp.com/
http://www.opticsolutions.com/
http://www.labused.com/
http://www.arcmicrooptics.com/
http://www.paragonmed.com/microscopes.html
http://www.usedmicroscopes.com/
Links to aid in Identification .....
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FA041
http://www.ntlabs.co.uk/microscope_diagnosis.htm
http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~parasite/home.html
http://www.aquavet.i12.com/Fish.htm
http://www.afip.org/vetpath/POLA/POLA95/gardiner
http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/DPDx/HTML/Image_Library.htm
http://anicca.net/parafish/
http://www.aquarium.net/0197/0197_1.shtml
http://www.missouri.edu/~vmicrorc/Byhost/Fish.htm
http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/parasites.htm
http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/C772-w.htm
http://dmoz.org/Science/Biology/Microbiology/Parasites/
http://home.austarnet.com.au/wormman/wormmain.htm
Symptom Based Treatment of Disease....
http://world.std.com/~enjolras/symtreat.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/or2/cichlid102/Disease/symptoms_index.htm
http://www.aqualink.com/disease/sdisease.html
http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/guides/disease.html
Hope this is of use to you. If you are interested in more info than this , ask and I'll see if I can point you in the right direction, or email/Im me .
take care ,
al
by Al Sabetta 3/2002
I was recently asked about microscopes for the hobbyist/ breeder of fish. Admittedly, I have mixed feelings on the use of microscopes by hobbyist and breeders to identify pathogens. As a biologist I use a microscope daily in my work. It is an excellent tool to aid in the identification of a pathogen or to characterize anything too small to be clearly seen by the human eye. It has limitations though as it is only a tool. In order for it to be useful one needs to take the time to learn how to use it, and how to identify what it is you are lookin at. This is not always as easy as it sounds. And is in a reality a very large time investment. For example...Some organisms need to be stained with the correct stains to visualize, some samples need to be taken directly from the affected animal (gill scrapes from fish, for flukes), Some fecal samples need to be freshly collected or non-pathogenic organisms can contaminate them. Sometimes a fish will need to be sacrificed, and there is always the chance the disease is a zoonosis (disease humans can contract from animals) such as fish tuberculosis.(http://medicine.bu.edu/dshapiro/zoofish.htm)
There is no doubt that if one wants to learn about the parasites, how to process them, and how to identify them with a scope that this is very useful tool and worth the investment of several hundred dollars- thousands. The first question one needs to ask is am I going to really take the time to learn about this tool and learn about the various diseases affecting my fish? if you answer no the see the links below to "Symptom based treatment of disease" If you answered yes then I would look over all the links given here. I would also go to used book shops, or college campus bookstores, and look for used textbooks on parasitology. They do not have to be fish specific. Most parasites belong to a group that are physically very similar, yet attack various species of vertebrates. Books that are specifically written for fish diseases generally lack the details to make a microscopic evaluation. They are usually geared towards making a symptom based assessment (otherwise known as ....educated guess). Other recommendations would be to take a class on general parasitology.
If after all this consideration you are still interested in getting a microscope, then make a list of the diseases you are interested and next to each research its size and any special processing, light, filters, lens that are reccommended (see the links below) Be sure to purchase the scope that will give you the magnification you need. For example gill flukes are best viewed at 40-100X whereas most fungus can be identified at 20-40X.. Once you have gotten a scope, experiment before you need it. Go to a pet shop and buy fish that are visible diseased and try to identify what is wrong with them and treat accordingly . If you can do this then you will be better equipped to solve a probelm in your tanks.
Links for techniques...
http://www.mwrn.com/guide/light_microscopy/microscope.htm
http://www.microimaging.ca/
http://www.ou.edu/research/electron/www-vl/
http://www.durr.demon.co.uk/
http://microscopeworld.com/resource/resource-b.htm
http://www.msa.microscopy.com/
Links for purchasing....
http://www.premieremicroscopes.com/breeders.htm
http://www.kaker.com/mvd/products/lightm.html
http://www.kaker.com/mvd/used_equip.html
http://www.wlamicro.com/
http://www.microscopesfromnightingale.com/
http://www.buntgrp.com/
http://www.opticsolutions.com/
http://www.labused.com/
http://www.arcmicrooptics.com/
http://www.paragonmed.com/microscopes.html
http://www.usedmicroscopes.com/
Links to aid in Identification .....
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FA041
http://www.ntlabs.co.uk/microscope_diagnosis.htm
http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~parasite/home.html
http://www.aquavet.i12.com/Fish.htm
http://www.afip.org/vetpath/POLA/POLA95/gardiner
http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/DPDx/HTML/Image_Library.htm
http://anicca.net/parafish/
http://www.aquarium.net/0197/0197_1.shtml
http://www.missouri.edu/~vmicrorc/Byhost/Fish.htm
http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/parasites.htm
http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/C772-w.htm
http://dmoz.org/Science/Biology/Microbiology/Parasites/
http://home.austarnet.com.au/wormman/wormmain.htm
Symptom Based Treatment of Disease....
http://world.std.com/~enjolras/symtreat.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/or2/cichlid102/Disease/symptoms_index.htm
http://www.aqualink.com/disease/sdisease.html
http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/guides/disease.html
Hope this is of use to you. If you are interested in more info than this , ask and I'll see if I can point you in the right direction, or email/Im me .
take care ,
al