All about Fish Vetting – Dr Richmond Loh
Two men go in pet store first one says to the other, “I will show you the power of the superior mind.” He looks into an aquarium at a goldfish. He moves his head to the right, the goldfish moves its head to the right, the man moves his head to the left, and the fish looks to the left.
The other man says, “That’s easy! I’ll show you.” The man looks at a goldfish and proceeds to repeatedly open and close his mouth:)
Many thanks for this joke to Andrew L.
Have a FINtastic week!
R <+>{
It’s quite common I get calls to supply medicines, especially "metro" from potential clients. There are many reasons why a veterinarian cannot prescribe/dispense/supply without seeing the patient. We need to use the medicines properly and only when it is needed. Read on to find out more…
March 19, 2015
Antibiotic use in pets could give rise to superbugs, experts warn
Buying antibiotics from pet stores could come back to haunt you, infectious disease specialist says. A lack of surveillance and uncontrolled use of antibiotics in pets across Canada could be adding to the growing problem of superbugs.
Antibiotic medicines, such as erythromycin and tetracycline (the same ones used in people), are readily available in pet shops. No questions asked or prescription required. People, on the other hand, have to see their doctors to get a prescription for such medication.
Dr. Scott Weese, an infectious disease specialist at the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, said that "just completely makes no sense. If we need to use an antibiotic, we need to use it right — which means getting the right diagnosis," he said.
"We need to use the right drug, right duration. All of these things can go wrong if people access the drugs in a wrong way," said Weese, who’s also the lead author on a new consensus statement calling for greater stewardship of antibiotic use on domestic animals, which was presented at a veterinary conference last year.
It’s not uncommon for pet owners to … … .
See the source (http://tinyurl.com/pryousf) for the full story.
The “consensus statement” referred to in the news article is available at http://tinyurl.com/kcy42rk.
The question on "what’s a pregnant goldfish called" has been rather popular on my blog.
How about koi? The answer is the same. There’s no term for a pregnant koi since they can’t become pregnant. Their eggs are fertilised externally.
Next Wednesday, one of my students will be delivering a lecture about very fat, gravid koi that won’t spawn. What are the dangers of egg retention? What are other things that might present in this way… and how to fix it?
For more information, visit – A presentation about egg-binding (egg-retention) in koi fish.
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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.
Looking for more books? Check out this site.
As winter approaches, the water temperature will decrease. Many biological processes in fish are dependent on the water temperature, and resistance to diseases is one of the major challenges faced by outdoor fish.
What you can do during this time of the year is to:
1. dose your pond with vitamin C on a weekly basis (1-10mg/L),
2. make sure you are giving your fish the best fish foods and
3. check your water quality is optimal (pH 6.5-7.5, alkalinity 4-6 dKH, ammonia 0mg/L, nitrite 0mg/L and nitrate <50mg/L).
4. If you have introduced new fish, aquatic plants or shared pond equipment from a friend, it would be worthwhile to get your fish vet-checked to make sure you have not introduced any nasty diseases. It’s easier to treat fish while the weather is still warm, and their immune system is strong, than during the cold winter months.
Fry-day!
Especially during the season of Lent.
Have a FINtastic week! R <+>{
Two Pet Goldfish Get Surgeries Totaling $750
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For some people, the price of a pet’s health is never too high: A team of veterinarians in Scotland performed a set of operations on pet goldfish that cost nearly $750.
The team — from Inglis Veterinary Hospital in Fife, Scotland — removed the blind, cancerous eye of a goldfish named "Star." They also operated on another fish named "Nemo" to remove a lump. The complex operations, which cost $747 U.S. (500 British pounds), involved an exotic consultant surgeon, a vet to keep the fish anesthetized and a nurse to monitor their heart rates, hospital staff wrote in a Facebook post.
"This is a highly specialist field — using anesthetic on a goldfish carries a very high risk —and I’m delighted for the owner that everything went OK and the owners are happy," said exotic-animals expert Brigitte Lord, according to the post. "The financial value of a goldfish may be quite small, but I think the fact that someone should have paid that much for an operation reflects the true value of the bond between pets and humans."
Abby Gordon, 21, a student in Glasgow, won the fish, named Star, at a fairground stall 12 years ago, by throwing a Ping-Pong ball into a goldfish bowl. (Goldfish have an average lifespan of several decades with the proper diet and living conditions; the world’s oldest goldfish lived a whopping 43 years, according to Guinness World Records.) Abby’s mother, Jane Gordon, "didn’t want Star to be lonely," the hospital staff said, so she bought another fish, Nemo.
When a cancerous growth developed on Star’s eye, the owners sought to have it surgically removed.
During the operation, the vets listened to the fish’s blood flow by pulsing it using Doppler ultrasound equipment. They kept the animal asleep by spraying it with a syringe containing oxygenated water and an anesthetic.
After the procedure, the doctors kept Star in a bucket of oxygenated water. They held the fish’s mouth open and gently moved it around for 8 minutes to mimic a swimming action, before the animal regained consciousness.
Nemo, the fish that shares a tank with Star, had a relatively easy surgery to remove a lump.
This isn’t the first time a goldfish has gone under the knife. Last year, a goldfish named George underwent an operation to remove a life-threatening tumor from his head at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.
As for Star and Nemo, both fish are now "happily reunited," according to the veterinary hospital’s Facebook post. Star is swimming around happily and is getting antibiotics, Jane Gordon said.
"I know it seems like a lot of money to spend on an operation for a goldfish, but what was the alternative?" Gordon said, according to hospital staff. "I think [we have] a social responsibility to look after our pets, and I know my daughter would have been distraught if anything had happened to the goldfish," she added
This month, I’ve invited a final year veterinary student who’s doing work placement with me, to make a presentation to the Koi Society of WA, about egg-bound koi fish.
Presentation summary: This talk will briefly outline the differential diagnoses for abdominal swelling (and asymmetry), and some of the common reproductive problems of female koi, with an emphasis on egg-binding or dystocia. The husbandry and physiology of this condition will be discussed, as well as treatment methods. If time permits, other topics, such as artificial spawning, may be discussed.
The presentation will be held at this month’s Southern Branch Koi Society of WA (KSWA) meeting.
Time: 7:30pm, Wednesday 25 March, 2015.
Venue: South Perth Rotary Hall, Sandgate Street, South Perth (cnr Renwick St).
Speaker Biography:
Ellen Rasidi is a final-year veterinary student at the University of Sydney, with an interest in all ‘exotics’ – fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, rodents, ferrets, wildlife… She has had a wide variety of experience within the field, including nursing in exotics practice in Melbourne, working in a chimpanzee sanctuary in West Africa, an externship in falcon medicine in Abu Dhabi, and research into canine dementia in Sydney. She is the founding president of the Sydney student chapter of the World Aquatic Veterinary Medicine Association, board member of Australian Raptor Care and Conservation Inc., and a veterinary nurse at the Animal Emergency Centre, Canberra. Ellen currently has a paper in publication on the topic of fish welfare, co-written with the past, current and future presidents of WAVMA.
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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
Billy Ocean.
& nbsp;
Have a FINtastic week!
R <+>{
Happy year of the goat!