Lord Howe Island – doctors and vets

I received a call yesterday from Lord Howe Island about a fish issue. And I discovered an interesting fact.

Did you know that there is no veterinarian on Lord Howe Island? Apparently the human medical doctor has to dabble in dogs and cats.

On the contrary, I’ve heard of war torn countries who have no doctors, and their resident veterinarian adopts the post of being the medico.

Anyway, back to my initial story. I explained to the caller that most fish health issues are related to water quality problems and most infectious diseases requires a microscopic diagnosis. After asking the right questions and listening to the client, my impression of the situation was that we are dealing with “new tank syndrome”.

I recommended purchasing a suite of water test kits, to make large partial water changes, decreasing the stocking density, increasing the filter capacity and feeding minimally until the situation is resolved.