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  1. #1
    Senior Member Rank = Sansai chris348's Avatar
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    Microscope Advice

    Hi all, some advice please. Following 2 recent deaths of Koi and am going to bite the bullet and invest in a microscope in order to identify and possibly treat. Probably a question asked a thousand times but can anyone suggest a decent microscope that has the ability to take digital photos on a laptop by USB ?

    Thank you in advance.



  2. #2
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion Frimley Koi keeper's Avatar
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    I think you'll find quite a few people on here have got an Apex Practitioner and I saw recently that someone had posted a link for an eyepiece adapter that you can link to your phone or laptop I think. I'm thinking it was either Feline or voodoo that posted the link but it was a couple of weeks ago at least so I might be wrong.

    The guy that did my pond health check had an attachment for his mobile for his microscope which I think he got from ebay quite cheaply?

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  4. #3
    Senior Member Rank = Sansai chris348's Avatar
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    Thank you mate. Just did a bit more research and found the Practitioner on Amazon with the attachment minigrab ?

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  6. #4
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion Frimley Koi keeper's Avatar
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    Same here, looked on Amazon but a couple of the reviews were a bit hit and miss regarding the eyepiece attachment so it's a bit pot luck on that one. But then again some people just like to complain about things even when they don't fully understand how things work, get it wrong then have to blame others for their mistakes don't you think?

    I'd like to hear how you get on with the mini grab if you do buy it, if you haven't already that is.

    You may need to buy some slides and slide covers too as I can't remember if the Apex comes with any as it was a while ago when I bought my one.

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  8. #5
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Sansai RomfordPaul's Avatar
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    I had Andrew from www.pondhealthconsulltant.co.uk round the other week, he uses this one:

    https://www.arcturuslabs.com (ONLY for iPhones)

    Really easy to use, puts perfect images on your phone screen just using the phones camera, no other software needed. Added bonus that you can then just hit record and film it as well.

    Made it really easy for me to see that one of my Showas was completely infested with Costia!

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  10. #6
    I have the apex practitioner and mini grab and think it is a brilliant bit of kit. Plug and play with Chrystal clear images or video. It is the only microscope I have ever owned but with my little experience I would highly recommend it.

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  12. #7
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion Frimley Koi keeper's Avatar
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    I was put off buying a minigrab due to some of the reviews on Amazon but will have another look thanks to some more better informed replies on here.

    Hope that makes sense as it's still early for me on a weekend lol

  13. #8
    Senior Member Rank = Sansai chris348's Avatar
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    Thank you all for your replies. I have just ordered through Amazon with delivery today hopefully. Woke up this morning to another fatality which is now 3 deaths in a couple of weeks. I shall post the pics on the forum later on to see if anyone can identify the possible cause ?

    Absolutely gutted.

    Chris

  14. #9
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion Frimley Koi keeper's Avatar
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    Sorry to hear about your losses Chris, hope your get to the bottom of things ASAP.

    Just out of interest have you ever used a microscope before and made slides for them?

  15. #10
    Senior Member Rank = Sansai chris348's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frimley Koi keeper View Post
    Sorry to hear about your losses Chris, hope your get to the bottom of things ASAP.

    Just out of interest have you ever used a microscope before and made slides for them?
    Morning,

    hopefully be able to identify the issue. As for the microscope I have used in the past with Marines so have the basics. I do loads of research (my wife hates it) so I do try and read up on "stuff" before diving in lol.

    Do you have any hints or tips ?

    Chris

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  17. #11
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    You will need to get some slides and covers if you haven't already got some. Use something like an old credit card to do the scrapes and go in the same direction as the scales as in from head to tail. Sometimes you will get a lot of slime and sometimes you will get hardly any. Transfer the slime onto the slide and add a little bit of pond water onto it to thin it out a bit then put a cover on the slide. Stick it under your microscope and slowly go over ever bit of the slide. You can also turn the slide over a go over it again. In case you missed something the first time or the slime was not clear enough to see right through it if that makes sense. It's amazing that if you only get a tiny bit of slime off the fish a drop or two of pond water makes it go a long way.

    There are various parts of the fish you need to get slime from like behind the gills under the belly along the sides and anywhere you think something doesn't look quite right.

    Good luck and I hope you can get an answer ASAP

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  19. #12
    Senior Member Rank = Sansai chris348's Avatar
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    Awesome advice and thank you. Did not even think about using pond water so that explains one of my first questions

    Once the microscope arrives I will do a quick write up on packaging and performance as I go. At least that will help others who are in the same predicament as I am or was lol

    Chris

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  21. #13
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion Frimley Koi keeper's Avatar
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    The hardest parts of doing the scrapes is catching the fish and then making sure you don't keep catching the same ones if you have a few very similar looking fish, getting them to stay still in the net while you do the scrapes and not getting soaked when they get the hump and start to struggle, waterproofs are a good option for your next Amazon order if you don't want to get covered in pond water lol

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  23. #14
    Senior Member Rank = Sansai chris348's Avatar
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    I shall let the good lady do the catching by telling her its easy ....

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    When you look at and move around the slide under the microscope try to find the best methodical way to look at the entire slide and not just have a random scout around.

    The more you use the adjustable slide bed the easier it will be to get used to the amount of fine or not so fine adjustment is required to cover everything you need to see.

    I hope I'm not telling you something you already know but sometimes it confirms what you think and you know what you're doing is OK.

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  27. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by chris348 View Post
    I shall let the good lady do the catching by telling her its easy ....
    Tell her she needs to jump in and swim around to make sure she gets the correct fish lol

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  29. #17
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    Also joking aside it can be a big help if someone can hold the net while you do the scrapes in case the fish doesn't want to play ball.

    Don't be tempted to use a slide to do the scrapes as if the fish struggles or jumps suddenly there could be problems all round if you know what I mean.

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  31. #18
    Senior Member Rank = Sansai chris348's Avatar
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    Preparing the good lady as we speak

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  33. #19
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    Tell her it's all in a good cause

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  35. #20
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    Before she gets into the pond make sure she has got her KHV vaccination up to date and check her for Flukes, Costa and fin rot when she gets out.

    Maybe you could do a few scrapes on her as I would be easier than doing a fish as she knows how to keep still hopefully ��

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