The Fish Vet's Blog

I’ve just been sent a sample of new fluidised bed filter media, called chips (pictured below, right). They are wafer-thin, lightweight, plastic discs, with minute pores and are slightly positively buoyant.

How does it compare with K1?
K1 is an established filter media that is shaped like cart wheels and are slightly positively buoyant (pictured below, left).

Well, I’ve setup a rough experiment comparing the two.

Materials:
2L chips
2L K1
2x 20L buckets
2x 10L water
2x 400mg ammonium chloride
2x aeration
2x bucket lids

Method:
I set each bucket up with 10L of water, ammonium chloride, aeration and the biomedia.
I then periodically perform water quality analysis, measuring ammonia, nitrite, pH and temperature, logging these into a notepad.

Results:
See part 2 when it becomes available (approximately 4 weeks’ time).

Australia’s third national strategic plan for aquatic animal health has been released.

It was endorsed by industry through the National Aquatic Animal Health Industry Reference Group and later by the Agriculture Ministers Forum.

AQUAPLAN 2014-2019 has five objectives:

1. Improving regional and enterprise-level biosecurity.
2. Strengthening emergency disease preparedness and response capability.
3. Enhancing surveillance and diagnostic services.
4. Improving availability of appropriate veterinary medicines.
5. Improving education, training and awareness.

Read more at:
http://www.agriculture.gov.au/animal-plant-health/aquatic/aquaplan

—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh
DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology) Murdoch, MANZCVS (Aquatics& Pathobiology), CertAqV, CMAVA, NATA Signatory.
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia.
Veterinary Medicine for fish.
W: http://www.thefishvet.com.au
E: thefishvet@gmail.com
P: +61 (0)421 822 383

I often receive requests to dispense medicines by potential clients who’ve searched the internet and consulted with Dr Google.

Consider this…
Would you ask a medical practitioner or the pharmacist to do the same?

The short answer to the question in the heading is, yes, as a registered veterinarian, I can prescribe and/or dispense drugs including antibiotics for your sick fish. The long answer is, it depends.

Firstly, many fish diseases are indistinguishable without running special tests. Water quality is a clear example of how you can’t tell what’s wrong without testing. Additionally, many of the parasitic diseases are impossible to diagnose without using a microscope. A Good diagnosis is what underpins success of therapy.

Secondly, it’s not uncommon for my clients to be faced with one or more diseases concurrently. It’s not until we test that we can tell.

Thirdly, many do not understand the gravity of unscrupulous use of antibiotics. Antibiotics resistance is a real issue. Dr Google would do well to alert would be users to this worrying fact. A search on the internet or on my blog will reveal the alarming facts.

So before you reach for the treatment for you sick fish, consider if you could do it better.

Man Caught With 51 Live Turtles in His Pants at Detroit-Windsor Border

The Canadian Press reports…
Read more.

WAVMA’s free webinar will be on in 45 minutes.

Be quick! Sign up at –
http://tinyurl.com/n3gv4lo

—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics & Pathobiology), CertAqV, CMAVA, NATA Signatory.
Aquatic Veterinarian | Adjunct Lecturer Murdoch University | President WAVMA |
Secretary Aquatic Animal Health Chapter – ANZCVS.
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

Looking for more books? Check out this site.

Q: How do clams enjoy their festivities?

A: They Shellebrate!

I was taking to some clients about why it is that we can feel that male koi get rougher around their gill covers and along their bodies. I remarked that I studied sections under the microscope, comparing male to female koi.

Normally, fish have living epithelial cells right up to the surface; unlike us, who have skin cells that form keratinised dead cell layers. But in the male koi, they seem to produce bits on their skin surface that appear like keratin on histology sections. I concluded that this is the reason that males are rough.

One of them remarked, “But fish have carotene, it gives them their colour and that’s what we feed them.”

And so we began our lesson in spelling and pronunciation.

“Ke-ra-tin”, not “ka-ro-teeeeen”.

Enjoy your day!

—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh
DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology) Murdoch, MANZCVS (Aquatics& Pathobiology), CertAqV, CMAVA, NATA Signatory.
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia.
Veterinary Medicine for fish.
W: http://www.thefishvet.com.au
E: thefishvet
P: +61 (0)421 822 383

The Marine Mammal Center International Veterinary In-Residence (IVIR) training program

provides marine mammal veterinarians across the globe an opportunity to gain experience in

marine mammal medicine and rehabilitation. It is expected that successful applicants will return

to their pre-existing programs prepared to implement training programs of their own.

This position requires a DVM degree or equivalent. Preference will be given to

veterinarians that are currently employed with a marine mammal rehabilitation program

or non-profit equivalent. This is an unpaid position. Airfare to San Francisco, CA, as well as

shared housing at the TMMC Guest House located within the Marin Headlands, will be provided

as part of the program. The house is shared during the busy season with other students,

researchers, externs and the veterinary intern. This position is available during the busy

season for three months at a time, either from March-May, May-July or July-September.

The applicant is responsible for completing all required visa paperwork, and is required

to have an international driver’s license.

 

The Marine Mammal Center veterinary staff includes full and part time veterinarians, three

veterinary technicians, a medical technologist and research staff. Goals of the program include

assisting the veterinary medical staff in providing medical management of a large number of

stranded marine mammals (mostly pinnipeds); performing post mortem examinations, sample

collection for various research projects, and record keeping. Collaborative research is highly

valued at TMMC, and development of a research project, either clinical or using retrospective

necropsy data, is highly encouraged.

 

If qualified, applicants should submit the following materials:

1. A cover letter/statement outlining the applicant’s goals and interests in the area of

aquatic animal medicine.

2. Three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the applicant’s academic

and/or clinical performance.

3. A current curriculum vitae, limited to 4 pages.

4. Selection of preferred dates (applicants will only be selected during the busy season

(March-September), but slight flexibility in scheduling will be accommodated on a case-
by-case basis

 

Please submit your application via E-mail if possible:

To: vetsciadmin@tmmc.org

Subject: 2015 International Veterinary In-Residence Program

Dr. Claire Simeone

Conservation Medicine Veterinarian, The Marine Mammal Center

2000 Bunker Road, Fort Cronkhite Sausalito, CA 94965-2619

Applications are due by Friday, November 28th, 2014. A selection will be made by the first

week in January 2015.

http://www.marinemammalcenter.org

It was like dragging two sacks of potatoes through the water’: Huge catfish caught by British man Tom Herron | News.com.

Source – http://mobile.news.com.au/world/it-was-like-dragging-two-sacks-of-potatoes-through-the-water-huge-catfish-caught-by-british-man-tom-herron/story-fndir2ev-1227084445226

Tom Herron (centre) with his record breaking 221lb catfish. Also pictured are his friends Ashley Scott (left) and Andy Cooper. Mr Herron said it was like “dragging two sacks of potatoes through the water”. Source: Snapper Media

IT could so easily have been the one that got away. A story about that giant fish that no one but the guy who almost caught it could vouch for.

Except Tom Herron, 68, did catch it — a mammoth 8ft 1in long and 221lbs rare albino catfish. In doing so he smashed a record his mate John Edwards, 74, set only an hour before when he reeled in an albino catfish that weighed 205lbs.

Cornwall-based Mr Herron told the Daily Star: “It was like dragging two sacks of potatoes through the water, it was unbelievable. I’ve been fishing for 50 years and this was the biggest fight I’ve ever had.”

John Edwards (left) with his catfish and Tom Herron (right) with his record breaking catfish with their friend Ashley Scott. The two friends hooked the rare fish just minutes apart. Source: Snapper Media

Tom Herron with his record-breaking catfish. Source: Snapper Media

It was the biggest albino they have ever seen caught on the river. “Apparently they make good eating — but you’d need a lot of chips,” he told the newspaper.

The trip, two hours south of Barcelona, was organised by a British tour firm, whose staff couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

They had never seen a brace of albino catfish, let alone two world records smashed in one day.

A spokesman said: “Albino catfish of that size are very rare indeed. This is the biggest we’ve ever seen.”

The albino catfish gets its unusual appearance as a result of a genetic anomaly that causes the fish to lack pigment and thereby appear white. They are considered trophy fish.