Few studies have utilised blood testing in fish because of a large number of complicating factors. One of the major complicating factros is that fish are “cold-blooded” animals, many of their enzymes and biological processes continue to occur even at room temperature (this is different to mammals where things tend to stabilise). So, blood samples drawn from fishes need to be analysed immediately. The article below details biochemical reference ranges for koi carp.
Plasma biochemical reference intervals for koi
Supported by Abaxis Incorporated.
The authors thank Larry S. Christian for technical assistance.
Objective—To assess reproducibility of an in-house tabletop biochemical analyzer for measurement of plasma biochemical analytes and establish reference intervals in adult koi.
Design—Prospective study.
Animals—71 healthy adult koi.
Procedures—Plasma was analyzed for concentrations or activities of albumin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, bile acids, BUN, calcium, cholesterol, creatine kinase, γ-glutamyltransferase, globulin, glucose, K, Na, P, total bilirubin, total protein, and uric acid. Duplicate samples were evaluated by use of the intraclass correlation coefficient to determine reproducibility. To assess the magnitude of differences between replicate samples, the absolute mean difference, SD, and minimum and maximum values were calculated for each analyte. Median values and reference intervals were calculated.
Results—Intraclass correlation coefficient values were excellent for all analytes except alanine aminotransferase (good), Na (poor), γ-glutamyltransferase (poor), and P (poor). Reference intervals were established.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The in-house tabletop biochemical analyzer had good precision for measuring most plasma biochemical analytes. Further research and comparison with other reference procedures are needed before reference intervals and precision can be established for globulin, Na, P, K, and albumin. Aquatic veterinarians may be able to use the reference intervals for adult koi as an important diagnostic tool or as part of a fish wellness program, as commonly done in other domestic species.
