Microscope parasite ID.

[lagatbezan]

First I apologize for the quality of the videos.
I just got myself a microscope and took samples of the poop of the fish currently in qt.
they have been in qt for a little over a month and in therapeutic copper for 14 days. Treated with 2 rounds of gc and about 7-8 days of metro.
not sure if what I see is uronema or brook.
@Jay Hemdal

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[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

First I apologize for the quality of the videos.
I just got myself a microscope and took samples of the poop of the fish currently in qt.
they have been in qt for a little over a month and in therapeutic copper for 14 days. Treated with 2 rounds of gc and about 7-8 days of metro.
not sure if what I see is uronema or brook.
@Jay Hemdal

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Those are pretty motile. The general thought is that free living protozoans are motile, while parasitic ones are stationary, or barely tumble in their adult forms.

Were these samples a "fresh catch" as they left the fish, or did you take them from the bottom of the tank? If the latter, I suspect these are just free living protozoans feeding on waste, or feeding on the bacteria that feeds on waste.

Telling one protozoan from another through a video is generally not possible - other than to tell if they are a ciliate (as these are) or a flagellate....

Jay

 

[lagatbezan]

Those are pretty motile. The general thought is that free living protozoans are motile, while parasitic ones are stationary, or barely tumble in their adult forms.

Were these samples a "fresh catch" as they left the fish, or did you take them from the bottom of the tank? If the latter, I suspect these are just free living protozoans feeding on waste, or feeding on the bacteria that feeds on waste.

Telling one protozoan from another through a video is generally not possible - other than to tell if they are a ciliate (as these are) or a flagellate....

Jay

Thanks Jay for the reply. The sample was taken from the fish poop that had collected at the bottom of the qt. I looked at a few under the scope and only a couple showed what I had recorded with movement. I had seen a few videos online of what uronema and brook looks like and it got me all paranoid specially the uronema one that showed these little bugs moving really fast similar to what i thought I observed. But I have zero experience with microscope.
What is your suggestion as what to do now?
I was planing to move them out of the current qt to a new qt and out of copper and observe for another two weeks.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks Jay for the reply. The sample was taken from the fish poop that had collected at the bottom of the qt. I looked at a few under the scope and only a couple showed what I had recorded with movement. I had seen a few videos online of what uronema and brook looks like and it got me all paranoid specially the uronema one that showed these little bugs moving really fast similar to what i thought I observed. But I have zero experience with microscope.
What is your suggestion as what to do now?
I was planing to move them out of the current qt to a new qt and out of copper and observe for another two weeks.

Here is a trick I’ve used; put a bit of mysid or krill inside a bit of mesh at the bottom of the tank for 12 to 16 hours. Pull it and look at it the same way as with the feces. If you see the same protozoans you know they aren’t parasitic.
Jay

 

[lagatbezan]

Here is a trick I’ve used; put a bit of mysid or krill inside a bit of mesh at the bottom of the tank for 12 to 16 hours. Pull it and look at it the same way as with the feces. If you see the same protozoans you know they aren’t parasitic.
Jay

Okay I’m gonna give that a try.
tonight the angel in qt gave a large poop which I was able to scoop up right away and observe under the microscope. This is the only bug I observed. There were maybe two of them that I saw. One was a lot more active then the other.
Any idea what it might be or if it’s a cause for concern?

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[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Okay I’m gonna give that a try.
tonight the angel in qt gave a large poop which I was able to scoop up right away and observe under the microscope. This is the only bug I observed. There were maybe two of them that I saw. One was a lot more active then the other.
Any idea what it might be or if it’s a cause for concern?

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I can't be certain, because I don't have a good size reference, but these look like copepodites - larval copepods. Very few copepods in aquariums are parasitic, and they are not parasites at this stage.

Jay