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View Full Version : Blammo's instructions for scraping and scoping



cindy
06-03-2005, 10:32 AM
Get yourself some PURE clove oil (eugenia). Good health food type stores have it. Take a small tank of some kind. I use a show bowl. Add 10 drops to each gallon water and use enough gallons to cover the fish in the bowl you are using. MIX LIKE HELL

Insert the fish into the bath.
Withing a minute or two you'll see him rolling onto his side like he's dying. Don't fret. He's not!

When he is knocked out lay him on a WET towel.

Here is the part where you pay attention!
Take a slide and cover plate as tools.
Turn the fish up and scrape under his chin...use the cover slip as a spatula, if you need to, and get a little mucous on the slide, close to center. You only need a little. Add one drop of food coloring (I like blue) and put a fresh cover slip on and press evenly.
Sit it aside.

Take another and scrape at the edge of the gill plate and back toward the tail 1/2 inch or so. Prepare as above and set aside.

Repeat along the edge of the dorsal fin where it meets the body.

Repeat in the "armpit" area of the pectoral fin.

Repeat along the anal vent area. GENTLY.
Once you get good you can prep all of these in less than 1 minute.
The fish can remain asleep as long as you need as long as he is still wet.
In surgical procedures they keep a spray bottle handy and mist the fish and gills.
You won't have to.
You have PLENTY of time.

Get someone to put the fish in fresh water or back in its pond and hold it upright until it comes around.
You can push it into an airstone or push it forward in the current. NOT back and forth. It take "forever" to come around LOL
It only seems that way...2 - 3 minutes tops!
He'll be just like his old self.

While they're doing that have a seat and start searching your slide for thine enemies.

Most of these bugs are transparent. Thats why I use the food coloring.
All of these you can see at 100x but costia. Costia is 400x and still had to see. Take your time if you suspect this bug and look for the class movement described in great detail elsewhere.
Look for Duncan Griffiths site.
Don't fear clove oil. I've done it literally hundreds (several hundreds) of times and never had any problems.