<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi Tess,<div><br></div><div>I would add the following to the advice April provided:</div><div><br></div><div>There are two common sources of Coleps predating upon fish eggs: </div><div>1) the water system or aquarium water the fish laying the eggs come from</div><div>2) the cultures of food organisms used to feed the baby fish (often paramecium)</div><div>Introducing Coleps from either of these sources into your larval culturing system makes it possible for the Coleps to rapidly bloom if they are able to feed on an egg. </div><div><br></div><div>If one of these is contaminated, it is pretty easy for the other to get contaminated with Coleps. Once your water system is contaminated, it will be very difficult to remove the Coleps from the water system without nuking the whole thing with bleach. Paramecium cultures can be restarted relatively easily. </div><div><br></div><div>Normally, Coleps are saprophages, eating detritus. I guess fish eggs are just too enticing an object for them to pass up on. A dirty rather than a clean water system would therefore be expected to provide a better home for Coleps. This also provides another argument against overfeeding. </div><div><br></div><div>Most commercially available cultures of ciliates are full of a variety of contaminants which should be removed such as:</div><div>Coleps, Didinium (a predator on paramecia), and other fast growing organisms that (under some culture conditions) can out compete paramecia. The stock center however is a source of Coleps free paramecia cultures. </div><div><br></div><div>Coleps and other unwanted organisms can be kept out of both sources by good quarantine procedures. </div><div>This also means that introducing new feed organisms (such as new paramecium cultures) into your facility can also introduce Coleps. Since they can be seen in a dissecting microscope, it is possible to produce a Coleps free culture. </div><div><br></div><div>A simple approach is:</div><div>1) dilute your initial culture</div><div>2) pick out individual organisms and put them into a new dish of culture media (diluting anything that came with them)</div><div>3) then pick out individuals again and put them into a new dish of culture media. </div><div><br></div><div>You can start a culture with a single paramecium. Using more results in a large culture sooner, but is more work and is more likely to by chance include a contaminant. </div><div><br></div><div>This process can be repeated several times, but two or three are usually sufficient to ensure the Coleps are not included. The more animals you transfer, the more work will be required, the greater possibility of a contaminant getting through, but also the more animals you have to start a new culture. I usually start two cultures in this way for a greater possibility of success. </div><div><br></div><div><div>I also have written up another approach has been described in an old issue of the Zebrafish Monitor which may be available on the ZFIN.org website. </div><div><br></div><div>Some claim a salt concentration shock can kill Coleps. Others say it is just a temporary effect that does not kill them all and that eventually they come back. The sudden salt change could also stress your fish. </div><div><br></div><div><div>On Feb 10, 2009, at 12:15 PM, April wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "> Hi Tess,<div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Verdana; min-height: 15px; ">Here is my recommendation for containing Coleps and/or any other unwanted organisms.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Verdana; min-height: 15px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Verdana" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Verdana">1. Bleach all of your eggs as soon as possible. If needed, you can reference the egg bleaching protocol found in The Zebrafish Book, <a href="http://zfin.org/zf_info/zfbook/chapt3/3.2.html">http://zfin.org/zf_info/zfbook/chapt3/3.2.html</a> or on our website, <a href="http://zebrafish.org/zirc/documents/protocols.php#Egg%20Bleaching">http://zebrafish.org/zirc/documents/protocols.php#Egg%20Bleaching</a>.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Verdana" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Verdana">2. Be sure to remove ALL dead/damaged eggs before bleaching.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Verdana" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Verdana">3. After bleaching, keep your embryos in embryo media until they have inflated their swim bladders and are swimming. Zebrafish larvae are the most susceptible when they have hnatched, but not yet inflated their swim bladders. Once the larvae are able to swim properly, they can fend off most organisms.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Verdana; min-height: 15px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Verdana; min-height: 15px; ">If you haven't already positively identified the organisms and would like to, I recommend putting a few of these critters on a slide and look at them under a compound microscope. Coleps are quite small and move in an intense twirling motion. They have plates that cover their exterior and make them look like hand grenades. As you mentioned, they are voracious and can consume an entire embryo in 45 minutes. </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Verdana" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Verdana">For future reference, I recommend obtaining a good protozoa picture book/guide. We have 2 older books that are quite helpful, however you might be able to find some newer better books with even better pictures and information.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Verdana; min-height: 15px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Verdana" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Verdana">- Patterson, D.J. (1996). Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa (A Colour Guide). John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, New York.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Verdana" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Verdana">- Berk, S. G.; Gunderson, J. H (1993). Wastewater Organisms (A Color Atlas). CRC Press LLC. </font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">If you continue to have problems, please let me know.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Very best,</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">April</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br></div><div><div>On Feb 9, 2009, at 4:17 PM, Fresquez, Theresa, DCA wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"> <div><font face="Arial" color="#000000" size="2">Hello,</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Does anyone know how to get rid of coleps? They are eating my zebrafish babies. </font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Thanks,</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Tess</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><a class="divRcpUnresCIn" onclick="return(false);" href="" name="unresolved" nindex="0"><font color="#ff0000"></font></a> </div><div> </div><br><br>Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail, including all attachments is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited unless specifically provided under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and destroy all copies of this message. -- This email has been scanned by the Sybari - Antigen Email System. <br><br><br><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">_______________________________________________</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Zbrafish mailing list</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="mailto:Zbrafish@net.bio.net">Zbrafish@net.bio.net</a></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://www.bio.net/biomail/listinfo/zbrafish">http://www.bio.net/biomail/listinfo/zbrafish</a></div> </blockquote></div><br><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">-----------------------</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">April R. 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