Regular Member Captain Findus Goldfish Posted October 25, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 25, 2010 So I found out that I have a real good Koi vet like 10mins from me! So we called him today and apparently he also does goldies a lot! He has worked all over the world on Koi Farms etc! He comes to your home and does 'check ups' of a couple of fish in your system (if everyone seems healthy), to make sure there are no parasites etc in the system. Then obviously you can call him for sick fish etc. I feel very comfortable knowing I can always call someone if something goes wrong. Anyways, I will be attending a few classes he holds on how to do skin scrapes and use the microscope to find parasites, bacteria etc! I am real excited! If I can get a hang on it I will look into buying my own microscope - so far I will borrow the one of a vet friend of mine 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dogsbykat Posted October 25, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 25, 2010 That is too cool! What a great thing to be able to learn 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted October 25, 2010 Admin Share Posted October 25, 2010 I been wanting one of those for years, but just cost to darn much 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Captain Findus Goldfish Posted October 25, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 25, 2010 I have seen a few here that aren't too much - there are some options you don't need as 'hobbyist' so that lowers the cost I just first need to see if I can even SEE anything on those! One thing is doing the scrape and using the microscope - another is actually KNOWING what you are looking at 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Lola_Granola Posted October 25, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 25, 2010 Now that is MOST cool! I would really love that! Please allow us to live vicariously through you and fill us in on what you learn! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Guldklumpen Posted October 28, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 28, 2010 Sounds very interesting. Should we call you "Doc" now? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Choochoo Posted October 28, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 28, 2010 I saw some that have a USB port or something , so that You can hook up a computer and see everything big on the screen live. You can see the little guys moving and take a video or stills. They were around 300$ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Captain Findus Goldfish Posted October 28, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 28, 2010 Oh really cool!!! Then I could show you guys! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Quasi Posted October 29, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 29, 2010 So I found out that I have a real good Koi vet like 10mins from me! So we called him today and apparently he also does goldies a lot! He has worked all over the world on Koi Farms etc! He comes to your home and does 'check ups' of a couple of fish in your system (if everyone seems healthy), to make sure there are no parasites etc in the system. Then obviously you can call him for sick fish etc. I feel very comfortable knowing I can always call someone if something goes wrong. Anyways, I will be attending a few classes he holds on how to do skin scrapes and use the microscope to find parasites, bacteria etc! I am real excited! If I can get a hang on it I will look into buying my own microscope - so far I will borrow the one of a vet friend of mine Great minds think alike ... I've also planned to take a course about taking scrapes and treating wounds and stuff with a local Koi Vet. I'll have to wait till February though 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CountryLovah Posted October 29, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 29, 2010 HOW exciting!!!! I am so jealous! I've been meaning to get a scope and learn for EVER.. That sounds so fun. A friend of mine actually knew someone similar.. who would come and check a few fish for you and was supposed to set me up but never did! Man I could use that! Once you learn to scope, you need to film yourself and make a koko's video tutorial so we can all learn from you! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Choochoo Posted October 29, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 29, 2010 Heres a Microscope thread from a Koi site http://www.koi-bito.com/forum/main-forum/12456-microscope.html 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member amynmitchell Posted October 29, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 29, 2010 So amazing. I can't wait to see more on this thread. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Captain Findus Goldfish Posted November 1, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 1, 2010 Great minds think alike ... I've also planned to take a course about taking scrapes and treating wounds and stuff with a local Koi Vet. I'll have to wait till February though Thats awesome Miki! The guy is really nice! He spent many years studying in South Africa so he is fluent in English thank goodness! (as my german is a little rusty). He even said he could come over and show me on my own goldfish how to do it - since he mainly does with Kois. Which is great so he can check if everyone is healthy 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporter Helen Posted November 1, 2010 Supporter Share Posted November 1, 2010 sounds like we can all start sending you guys specemins of our tank problems!! you shall be our fishologial forensic team! (FFT for short!!) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member shellbell4ever Posted November 1, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 1, 2010 Wow how exciting I remember having a little kit as a child it was cool then imagine actually knowing what your looking at (LOL) keep us posted 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Captain Findus Goldfish Posted November 4, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 4, 2010 Koi Vet came this morning!!! He is a really sweet young guy who thankfully spoke great english! I think he was happy to be working in the warm of an apartment instead of outside on the ponds. Together we took body scrapes of most fish. He showed me how to look for parasites in the microscope - SO EASY - I am sure all you guys could do that! Just look for stuff that moves. Wasn't a very interesting lesson since - ALL MY FISH ARE PARASITE FREE!!! We also talked a little on staining - only necessary to distinguish gram pos and gram neg bacteria. Also, to look at bacteria is a little more complicated - will be lesson 2. Today we did only body scrapes (and a few fin scrapes). He says that most of the times (with Kois) he also gives a light dose of anaesthetic and checks the gills + takes gill scrapes. I didn't let him do that tho! I am way too nervous with putting my babies to sleep! And he said that since the body scrapes were so good, it isn't necessary Also on the scrape we saw that the Jumbo Ryukins have perfect amount of slime (too much is a sign of trouble). Also he showed me the pigment cells. He also found that there was no bacteria etc on the scrape. Very good. What I found extremely cool was that when we scraped Humphrey the slide made a weird noise - like his scales were dry. Right away the vet asked if he was a boy Apparently older 'men' will have this drier type of slime. VERY COOL! Humphrey is a ball of testosterone! He says that to be serious with goldies having a small microscope is the best thing. So he now gave me an address of a koi farm here that sells good microscopes - he says quality is important because you want something to last the next 30years - not have to replace it after 2. He also showed me that you don't really need the USB connector thing for the computer - he just takes pics of the slide with a normal camera! The important thing is a mechanical mover of the slide - cause moving it with your fingers makes it very inaccurate. Then he asked for the water parameters and how often I test them etc. He was happy with me Then he tested the oxygen concentration in the tanks - I have 90% + in each tank which was mostly around 7-8mg per liter (depending on the temp). He says it is best to stay above 5 but you can't really have too much. He says that for the larger fish 120% is optimal. He talks highly of oxygen generators which you plug to airstones but which put out like 90% oxygen instead of just 'air' like the pumps. Will look into that. Also to keep in mind that too high isn't good because if the stuff break you have stressed fish. Then I showed him the spots the Jumbo Ryukins have in their mouths (he was impressed of how 'trained' they are to come out with their mouths ) He says those spots are not a problem. They are white/skin color = harmless. He says he would be worried if they were red or fungussy etc. He says just to keep an eye on them but that cutting them off would do more harm then good. About Salt: (I was shocked) He recommends jumping RIGHT AWAY to 0.5% when treating parasites. He says that the way we do it (0.1,0.2 to 0.3) will be less effective because it also lets time for the parasites to get used to the salt. I asked if that wouldn't freak the fish - he says that any parasite treatment freaks them. But I will not be trying this anytime soon (unless absolutely necessary). He says that the way we do it is great for building up strength in the fish - so they fish off things themselves. About Antibiotics: Apparently most breeders in Asia will give antibiotic shots to their fish before shipment 'for prevention' - this is why we have so many resistant strains. He says that when he finished Vet School he expected all to be like 'in the books', but because of these problems he is constantly coming up with new ways of treatment. He says he is now in contact with many of the breeders as he prefers to 'know without judging' then to be kept in the dark and not know how to help the fish. About PraziPro: Apparently what we use is a very weak dose - he says to go ahead and dose 3x the recommended dose (3 teaspoons per 20gal instead of the 1). He says that gill flukes (the babies) you can see on the body scrapes because those guys hang out on the body - YUCK! And prazi works very quick - so he also recommends dosing like 24hrs before moving the fish to the main tank (after various treatments obviously) for the highest probability of the fish being fluke free (since the eggs do not stick to the fish). Okey that is it for today! I will get back with pics when I get my microscope! I recommend you all to get one! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Quasi Posted November 4, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 4, 2010 with all the healthy fish He says that to be serious with goldies having a small microscope is the best thing. So he now gave me an address of a koi farm here that sells good microscopes - he says quality is important because you want something to last the next 30years - not have to replace it after 2. He also showed me that you don't really need the USB connector thing for the computer - he just takes pics of the slide with a normal camera! The important thing is a mechanical mover of the slide - cause moving it with your fingers makes it very inaccurate. We used that technique in class years ago. During practica with microscopes my hubby took pictures of the slides. Those came in handy when studying Where is that koi Farm? I hope close to the Belgian border About Salt: (I was shocked) He recommends jumping RIGHT AWAY to 0.5% when treating parasites. He says that the way we do it (0.1,0.2 to 0.3) will be less effective because it also lets time for the parasites to get used to the salt. I asked if that wouldn't freak the fish - he says that any parasite treatment freaks them. But I will not be trying this anytime soon (unless absolutely necessary). He says that the way we do it is great for building up strength in the fish - so they fish off things themselves. My local vet said the same. I have to admit I was quite shocked back then. About PraziPro: Apparently what we use is a very weak dose - he says to go ahead and dose 3x the recommended dose (3 teaspoons per 20gal instead of the 1). He says that gill flukes (the babies) you can see on the body scrapes because those guys hang out on the body - YUCK! And prazi works very quick - so he also recommends dosing like 24hrs before moving the fish to the main tank (after various treatments obviously) for the highest probability of the fish being fluke free (since the eggs do not stick to the fish). That probably means that my fish do not have gill flukes. As the scrapes that were taken a year ago showed no parasites on them what so ever. And everything goes through QT before it ends up in the tank. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Captain Findus Goldfish Posted November 4, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 4, 2010 Miki you are way closer to my friend Joachim tho. He is in Tiel, Holland. http://www.koicenter.nl/ otherwise his email is info@koicenter.nl - just say you are friends with Tobias Faber of the goldfish He has some good simple microscopes and I think he can order specific models for you. The vet recommends brands from Holland too (Novex is what he has been using for 10 years) Yea I was so happy when he said the slides were all clear!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Quasi Posted November 4, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 4, 2010 Miki you are way closer to my friend Joachim tho. He is in Tiel, Holland. http://www.koicenter.nl/ otherwise his email is info@koicenter.nl - just say you are friends with Tobias Faber of the goldfish He has some good simple microscopes and I think he can order specific models for you. The vet recommends brands from Holland too (Novex is what he has been using for 10 years) Thanks Only 1h30 drive. I don't think I'll be able to visit in the next months though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Captain Findus Goldfish Posted November 4, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 4, 2010 It's 9hrs from me!!! :cry1 Gota drive up Monday tho to get the Dalmatian Ryukin. Oh well. It's a chance also to go see my boyfriend's grandparents who live in Aachen, Germany 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Quasi Posted November 4, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 4, 2010 It's 9hrs from me!!! :cry1 Gota drive up Monday tho to get the Dalmatian Ryukin. Oh well. It's a chance also to go see my boyfriend's grandparents who live in Aachen, Germany and with a small detour you can visit me 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Captain Findus Goldfish Posted November 4, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 4, 2010 Yea!!! Goldfish party!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Captain Findus Goldfish Posted November 5, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 5, 2010 Apparently there is a pharmaceutical company here which gives out used instruments every few years when they get new equipment. I have to go check it out. THere you can get awesome professional stuff for half the price of 'normal hobby/school' equipment. Could be cool! Apparently they also have a lot of stuff for bacterial samples etc. My friend from the fish store got more than half of his home equipment like that - and he has awesome things. Will keep you all posted 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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