Nothing. It just waved.
Have a FINtastic week!
R <+>{
Coolest aquarium designs.
A Hawaiian man died after he was stabbed in the chest by a swordfish he was trying to spear.
Read more at this link.
Aquatic Veterinary Medicine is now officially a recognised area of specialisation.
The Europeans have established a new European College of veterinary specilization in Aquatic Animal Health and this is the only veterinary specialization in Aquatic Medicine in the world (all other specilizations are part of Zoo medicine Colleges and are subspecialities).
The primary objectives of the European College are to advance aquatic animal medicine /health in Europe. This covers all aquatic animals:
• fish, aquatic mammals, shellfish, shrimp and aquatic invertebrates whether ornamental, cultured or wild.
•water quality, welfare, zoonoses, therapeutics and relative legislation.
It aims at the improvement and promotion of the quality of veterinary practice through contacts of general practitioners with registered specialists.
This is done by:
a) Establishing guidelines for the post-graduate education and experience required as a prerequisite to become a specialist in the specialty of aquatic animal health.
b) Examining and authenticating veterinarians as specialists in aquatic animal health to serve the veterinary patient, its owner and the public in general, by providing expert care for all aquatic animals with medical diseases.
c) Encouraging research and other contributions to knowledge relating to pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapy, prevention, welfare, zoonoses and control of diseases directly or indirectly affecting aquatic animals (fish, mammals, shellfish, shrimp and aquatic invertebrates) whether ornamental, cultured or wild and promoting communication and dissemination of this knowledge thus providing improved services to the public and industry.
One essential prerequisite for becoming a Diplomate of any EBVS recognised College is to be a graduated veterinarian from a higher education institution that is accredited in a respective country, and to have a licence to practice veterinary medicine in an European country. Non-veterinarians are not eligible for becoming a Diplomate, but can request the associate membership status in the College.
In general, some form of post-veterinary graduation experience (internship, masters, clinical/practice year or equivalent experience,) will be required for admission into residency program. The residency would take minimum of three years under supervision of an ECAAH Diplomate, during which time at least one publication as first author and second written proof of expertise (significant case study, set of small case reports, co-authoring a publication) will need to be produced before becoming eligible to sit for a general and specialty exam.
PRESIDENT:
Prof. Foteini Athanasopoulou Univ. of Thessaly, Greece
Past President, World Aquatic Veterinary Medicine Association.
Ex Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Laboratory of Ichthyology and Fish Diseases, Veterinary Faculty
221 Trikalon str, Karditsa 43100
Tel +30 24410 66008, 66045, +30 6984214219
eathan@vet.uth.gr foteini8@gmail.com
VICE PRESIDENT:
Prof. Dusan Palic Univ. of Munich, Germany
Professor and Chair of Fish Diseases and Fisheries Biology
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich
Lehrstuhl für Fischkrankheiten und Fischereibiologie
Tierärztliche Fakultät, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Kaulbachstraße 37, 80539 München, Deutschland
Email: d.palic@fisch.vetmed.uni-muenchen.de
Tel: +49 (0)89 2180 2282
TREASURER:
Dr Hamish Rodgers Ireland
Hamish Rodger, PhD, MRCVS,
Vet-Aqua International,
Unit 7b, Oranmore Business Park,
Oranmore, Co. Galway,
Ireland
tel/fax + 353 91 792997, mobile +353 87 6184166
email: hamishrodger@eircom.net
SECRETARY:
Ass. Prof. Vassilis Bakopoulos Univ. of Aegean, Greece
Assistant Professor
Department of Marine Science
Aegean University
University Hill
Mytilene 81100
Greece
Tel. +30-22510-36870
Cel. 6932371586
E-mail: v.bakopoulos@marine.aegean.gr
MEMBERS
Dr Ioannis Vatsos Norway
Associate Professor in Veterinary Sciences at the Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, University of Nordland, Norway
ivatsos@vet.auth.gr, inv@uin.no
Dr Francesc Padros University of Barcelona, Spain. UAB associated researcher , Animal Biology Unit, Veterinary Faculty. UAB.
Tel: +34 93 581 46 37, Fax : + 34 93 581 20 06.
Follow me on: Facebook “Fin Page” – YouTube – Blog – Linkedin – Twitter
—
Yours sincerely,
Dr Richmond Loh
DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics & Pathobiology), CertAqV, CMAVA, NATA Signatory.
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA.
Mobile Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383
Skype: thefishvet
President WAVMA 2014
Adjunct Lecturer Murdoch University | Secretary Aquatic Animal Health Chapter – ANZCVS.
See advert on YouTube.
Microscopes are essential for diagnostic work. What does TheFishVet recommend?
Many have asked me what I think is the best microscope for diagnostic use. It really depends on what you’re going to use it for. Below are the scopes I have found to be more than satisfactory for my works.
For my site visits, I can’t go past the monocular microscope (see link) because it is just so portable and practical. You can set up just about anywhere. There’s no need to find powerpoints or run long extension cords which can be a hazard for tripping, and ofcourse, electricity around water is dangerous. Examination of wet mounts can be conducted rather quickly. It is excellent for pond-side diagnostics.
I also spend a lot of time reading histology slides. For this sort of work, I can’t go past binocular microscopes (see link). If you’ve to spend lots of time reading slides, it becomes a strain if you’re using a monocular. You have to use both eyes, because squinting through one eye become tiresome and a strain for the working eye. However, in my ealy days, I found it very difficult to use both eyes at the same time. It’s something that takes practice, but your eyes will thank you. Unfortunately, I’ve not found a decent binocular scope that is very portable. This is the closest thing to a binocular scope that is compact enough for a mobile veterinarian, but it needs to be plugged into a powerpoint.
If you are not moving your microscope around and don’t like to look through the eye-pieces, then I recommend the trinocular microscope (see link) combined with a digital camera. This will relay an image onto a computer screen.
The digital camera options in increasing quality are :
ISH500 (5 megapixels) – $795
ISH1000 (10 megapixels) – $995
HDMI-2 – $1,495.
This week we are offering free shipping within Australia. Take advantage of savings by placing your orders now.
Follow me on: Facebook "Fin Page" – YouTube – Blog – Linkedin – Twitter
—
Yours sincerely,
Dr Richmond Loh
DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics & Pathobiology), CertAqV, CMAVA, NATA Signatory.
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA.
Mobile Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383
Skype: thefishvet
President WAVMA 2014
Adjunct Lecturer Murdoch University | Secretary Aquatic Animal Health Chapter – ANZCVS.
See advert on YouTube.
How best to use povidone iodine (Betadine) topically to treat fish ulcers?
Thank you to everyone who’ve contributed to this discussion. I thought I’ll summarise my thoughts.
Some of our colleagues do not use topical disinfectants, some dilute it prior to use, and some use it neat. So, the questions were:
1. Whether or not to use topical disinfectants?
2. If yes, is dilution necessary?
3. If yes, will diluting betadine negate its antiseptic properties?
In my notes (below), it states that excess free iodine is indeed irritant to skin and mucus membranes (but dose rate unrecorded). To err on the side of caution, some veterinarians choose to not use betadine at all. Additionally, there is argument that immunoprotective qualities of mucus would be destroyed by application of chemicals.
Some of our colleagues choose to apply betadine topically for the treatment of ulcers and post-surgical wound-closure. This likely reflects extrapolation from our veterinary training in the treatment of terrestrial animals. It seems logical that we need to prevent bacterial colonisation while allowing the skin to heal. Is this justified?
I could not find literature specifically on the toxic effects of topical use on fish. When used on fish eggs, it is applied at 0.002-0.01% for 1-15 minutes. For spawning fish, they are immersed in solutions at a concentration of 0.006-0.007% for up to 30 minutes (see link to article). This significantly lower dose may be because ionophores are particularly toxic to gills. I was sent an article stating the efficacy, and at the same time, no signs of toxicity were shown in opthalmic surgeries in canines when used at 0.2%. Can fish be likened to eyeballs with fins and scales? Perhaps the fish is more different to the eye of a dog.
One of our colleagues suggests that the antiseptic properties are lost once betadine is diluted by more than 50%. Consequently they routinely use it neat, and in their experience, have found no evidence of delayed healing. Could it be that much of the betadine washes off once fish are replaced in the water as evidenced by the brown tint disappearing within minutes?
But what if we use betadine, combined with a fish "bandage" (see link). Here, betadine is used at 1:10 dilution, and the brown tint lasts for at least 2 hours after application. This may be evidence that the contact-time is extended. Should the betadine continue to be used diluted in this situation?
I suspect the debate continues because:
– The solutions may come different concentrations: as 0.5% liquid spray, 1% betadine solution and even up to 7% (tincture of iodine).
– The iodophore may come in different forms (Wescodyne reported more toxic than Betadine) – see link.
– Toxicity depends on pH (more toxic at pH <6, and becomes ineffective at pH >8).
Though empirical data is useful, I believe we need controlled studies to settle the debate.
Follow me on: Facebook "Fin Page" – YouTube – Blog – Linkedin – Twitter
—
Yours sincerely,
Dr Richmond Loh
DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics & Pathobiology), CertAqV, CMAVA, NATA Signatory.
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA.
Mobile Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383
Skype: thefishvet
President WAVMA 2014
Adjunct Lecturer Murdoch University | Secretary Aquatic Animal Health Chapter – ANZCVS.
See advert on YouTube.
Fish joke for Monday-itis: Define “oyster”.
Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
Have a FINtastic week!
R <+>{
Bellinger River snapping turtle under threat.
A mysterious disease is threatening the survival of a New South Wales turtle species, wiping out most of its population within two months and baffling [veterinarians and] scientists who say they have never seen anything like it.
Learn more at this link –
http://vetpracticemag.com.au/turtle-species-under-threat/
—
Yours sincerely,
Dr Richmond Loh
DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics& Pathobiology), CertAqV, NATA Signatory.
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA.
Mobile Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383
Do you know if goldfish eat each other?
Weird question, but not such a silly question. I was asked to write about it recently. What do you think?
Find my answer at this link.
How are fish collected and identified?
Interesting.
By the WA museum – http://museum.wa.gov.au/research/collections/aquatic-zoology/fish-ichthyology-section/collecting-fish