A great resource! Read on.

From: “Dr. David Scarfe”
Date: 3 August 2013 6:02:38 AWST
Subject: AquaVetMed e-News: FDA Drug Instructional Videos on-line

August 2, 2013
FDA Veterinary Drug Instructional Videos

The U.S. Food & Drug Agency, Center for Veterinary Medicine has recently made a number of instructional videos available on-line. These have been produced in fulfillment of the FDA’s mission to protect U.S. human and animal health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and quality of animal drugs, including drugs intended for food-producing animals, and the safety of animal feeds and pet foods.

Many of the videos are 10-15 minutes in length, but very effectively explain the core issues of FDA programs for approving drugs, and monitoring products after they have been placed on the market. Many of them are directly relevant to aquatic veterinary medicine. These videos also describe how CVM supports continuing efforts to reduce trade barriers and promote harmonization of international standards and guidelines.

The following are available at http://tinyurl.com/kwelp7h:
· Welcome to the Center for Veterinary Medicine (Bernadette M. Dunham, DVM, PhD)
· Current Good Manufacturing Practices ( Dr. Gabriel Davila)
· Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls and Good Manufacturing Practices: The Big Picture of a Long-Term Commitment (Elizabeth Pollina Cormier, PhD)
· Effectiveness Evaluation for Therapeutic Drugs for Food Animals (Emily Smith, DVM)
· Effectiveness Evaluation for Production Drugs (Crystal Groesbeck, PhD)
· Human Food Safety of New Animal Drugs: Microbial Food Safety (Heather Harbottle, PhD)
· Foundations of Regulation (Diane L. Heinz, DVM, MBA)
· Target Animal Safety (Laura L. Hungerford, DVM, MPH, PhD)
· Regulation of Genetically Engineered Animals at FDA: A Case Study (Jeff Jones, DVM, PhD)
· Effectiveness Evaluation for Therapeutic Drugs for Non-Food Animals (Christopher Loss, DVM)
· Aquaculture (Jennifer Matysczak, VMD)
· The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System – Tracking Antimicrobial Resistance in the Food Supply (Patrick McDermott, PhD)
· Medicated Feeds Overview (Dr. Dragan Momcilovic and Dr. Gabriel Davila)
· Advertising Issues, Effectiveness Claims (Mike Murphy, DVM, JD, PhD)
· Lifecycle-Based Approach to Regulating Product Quality – An International Perspective (Dr. Michael E. Oehlsen)
· An Overview of Minor Use and Minor Species Issues in the U.S.A. (Meg Oeller, DVM)
· Human Food Safety of New Animal Drugs: Residue Chemistry (Julia A. Oriani, PhD)
· Regulating Animal Drugs (Brandi Robinson)
· Regulation of Animal Biotechnology at FDA: An Overview (Eric Schulze, PhD)
· Labeling Issues (Suzanne Sechen, PhD)
· Environmental Impact (Risk) Assessment of Veterinary Pharmaceuticals (Eric Silberhorn, PhD)
· Introduction to CVM International Programs Webpage (Merton V. Smith, PhD, JD)
· Governance of Veterinary Medicinal Products: Need to Leverage Resources (Merton V. Smith, PhD, JD)
· CVM Recalls (Kathy Hemming Thompson)
· Overview of CVM Bioresearch Monitoring ( Vernon D. Toelle, PhD)
· Embracing New Innovation in Veterinary Drug Evaluation (Steven D. Vaughn, DVM)
· Regulation of Genetically Engineered Animals at FDA: A Risk-Based Approach (Malini M. Wileman, PhD, RAC)
· Principles of New Animal Drug Effectiveness: An Overview (Linda M. Wilmot, DVM, MS)
· Human Food Safety of New Animal Drugs: Toxicology Assessment (Tong Zhou, PhD, DABT)

___________________________
AquaVetMed e-News provides information to veterinary and veterinary-allied subscribers concerning aquatic animal medicine, health, welfare, public health and seafood safety, obtained from a variety of sources (largely AquaVetMed subscribers). While provided by the American Veterinary Medical Association’s, Aquatic Veterinary Medicine Committee and are for public distribution, they do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the AVMA or the veterinary profession. See the AVMA Terms of Use (http://tinyurl.com/29h2rf) for further information.

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I received this query recently:

Hi Dr Loh,

I hope this message finds you well.

I was hoping you could offer some advice on recent behavioural changes with my Betta fish. I have JJ for 18 months now and 2 weeks ago I upgraded his 5 litre bowl to an 18 litre bowl with a heater. Since then his whole eating pattern has changed and he has lost his routine. He used come straight up for his food morning and night but now he barely eats at all. I also notice that since putting a heater in with him he hugs it a lot and I’m worried he might burn himself.
Is this behaviour something I should be concerned about?

Kind regards

NM

My response:

Yes, there is certainly a risk of him burning himself. Why does he hug the heater? This is because he’s a tropical fish and is feeling cold, needing to be near the heater to feel the warmth. It is likely that the heater is not performing efficiently to warm the entire aquarium evenly. The water temperature should be 24-28 degrees Celsius. One way of rectifying the issue is to ensure good water circulation around the heater. Some ways include placing air stones beneath the heater, positioning the heater at an angle or near the water filter outlet. If he continues to wrap himself around the heater, it might be a behavioural thing. You can purchase or make your own fenestrated heater cover to prevent fish coming into direct contact with the heating elements.

Apparently what’s published can be a piece of croc!

Read more here –

From fraud to fair play: Australia must support research integrity

Follow me on: Facebook "Fin Page" – YouTube – Blog – Linkedin – Twitter

—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology) Murdoch, MANZCVS (Aquatics & Pathobiology).
Veterinarian | Adjunct Lecturer Murdoch University | President-elect WAVMA |
Secretary Aquatic Animal Health Chapter – ANZCVS.
The Fish Vet, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA. Mobile Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services for fish and other aquatic creatures.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383

Looking for more books? Check out this site.

Not all things can be used interchangeably from hydroponics to aquaponics.

Following yesterday’s post on how probiotics work, I recently stopped by the local hydroponics store just to see what products they had. I told them I had a working knowledge on Aquaponic systems and we swapped contact details.

There was one product that caught my eye. It was a probiotics for hydroponics to increase yield and improve plant health. I was intrigued because I wonder if it could be used in systems that hold fish. Below is a picture of the contents of the probiotic.

In the list of bacteria beneficial for hydroponically grown plants were three that can cause serious diseases in fish. These all belonged to the Pseudomonas group of bacteria and they cause septicaemia.

This just goes to show the importance of reading the label and consulting good information sources before you go ahead and find out the hard way.
Follow me on: Facebook “Fin Page” – YouTube  – Blog – Linkedin – Twitter

—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh

 

Read more here – http://mobile.news.com.au/weird-true-freaky/swedish-male-skinnydippers-warned-after-testicleattacking-pacu-fish-found-in-local-lakes/story-e6frflri-1226695249530

—
Yours sincerely,

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

Fish need oxygen dissolved in the water in order to breathe. This can be done by two methods. Aerate the tank by using an air pump to pump atmospheric air into the water; alternatively, this can be done by injecting oxygen into the water. During transport, fish are held at higher densities for economic reasons. Supplemental oxygen would therefore need to be provided. This paper provides good evidence that it is better to oxygenate tanks rather than aerate them.

I’ll explain why this is so. When transporting fish in water, they continually excrete ammonia. When this enters the water, it is found in two forms, ammonium and ammonia, depending on the water pH. Ammonia is toxic to fish when in high concentrations. There is a greater proportion of ammonia when the pH is high (under more alkaline conditions). What saves the fish from ammonia build up is that they also produce carbon dioxide. When carbon dioxide enters the water, it will lower the pH (make the water more acidic). This effect actually reduces the proportion of ammonia that is in the water. Heavy aeration can cause the carbon dioxide to escape, leading to elevation of pH and in turn, increase the proportion of toxic ammonia and fish losses can result. Thus, it is better to keep the carbon dioxide in the water to maintain the lower pH in order to have a greater proportion of the ammonia in the ammonium form. This means you need to provide oxygen to the water with less turbulence. This means injecting oxygen.

This same suite of chemical reactions also occur in bagged fish. Keeping the carbon dioxide in (and maintaining the low pH) is the reason for NOT opening the bag while you’re floating the bag for temperature equalisation.

Aquacultural Engineering
Volume 55, Number 3 (July 2013)
	Impact of aeration and alkalinity on the water quality and product quality of transported tilapia—A simulation study
	Authors:	John Colt, Eric Kroeger
	Author Affiliations:	no affiliations available
	Source:	Aquacultural Engineering, Volume 55, Number 3 (July 2013)
	Page Numbers:	46 – 58
	Available Full Text:	Full Text: Subscription Required to view full text Format: PDF Size: Unknown Location: Publisher’s Site Authentication: Publisher’s Site
	Abstract:	•Air aeration resulted in lowest CO2, highest pH, and highest NH3concentrations.•At high alkalinities, the “Air” treatment was unable to maintain adequate DO levels.•Oxygen aeration resulted the highest DO, highest CO2, lowest pH, and lowest NH3.•NH3was higher in the “High Alkalinity” treatments because of higher pH.•Increased mortality was observed in the air aeration treatments.
	Citation:	John Colt, Eric Kroeger . Impact of aeration and alkalinity on the water quality and product quality of transported tilapia—A simulation study. Aquacultural Engineering, Volume 55, Number 3 (July 2013), pp. 46-58, <http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=490884D54065027B9A66&gt;
	URL:	http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=490884D54065027B9A66

One dolphin hits the target with a splash of water… The second dolphin congratulated him saying,”Great shot!” To which the first dolphin relied,”That was a ‘fluke’!”

Also, don’t forget that in exactly 24 hours, we have the free webinar on: Common ornamental fishes and their diseases.

Read more here on how to register:
https://thefishvet.com/2013/07/31/free-webinar-common-ornamental-fishes-and-their-diseases/

I really love it when we can put nature to work. This article provides the scientific data to show that biological control of lice by the addition of cleaner fish works on salmon farms. I wonder if there’s a freshwater equivalent for the treatment of fish lice in koi ponds.

Aquaculture
Volume 403, Number 1-4 (July 2013)
	Delousing of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) by cultured vs. wild ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta)
	Authors:	Anne Berit Skiftesvik, Reidun M. Bjelland, Caroline M.F. Durif, Inger S. Johansen, Howard I. Browman
	Author Affiliations:	no affiliations available
	Source:	Aquaculture, Volume 403, Number 1-4 (July 2013)
	Page Numbers:	113 – 118
	Available Full Text:	Full Text: Subscription Required to view full text Format: PDF Size: Unknown Location: Publisher’s Site Authentication: Publisher’s Site
	Abstract:	The ectoparasitic salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) is a serious problem in salmon aquaculture (Salmo salarand rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss). These parasitic copepods attach to fish and feed on their mucus and tissue, reducing feed conversion efficiency and causing sores, thereby increasing farming costs and reducing the value of the product. Many non-pharmaceutical approaches to controlling sea lice are being developed. One such is to use cleaner fish (in this case, wrasse) in co-culture with salmon to remove salmon lice. The objectives of this study were to assess the efficiency of wrasse as delousing agents and to compare the relative efficiency of wild vs. cultured individuals. Wrasse were extremely efficient in delousing salmon. At a ratio of 5% wrasse to salmon, the mean number of mobile lice life history stages on salmon was maintained at a level of less than one per fish. Intensively cultured wrasse were as efficient as wild wrasse at removing lice. The presence of wrasse did not affect the growth of salmon. This study demonstrates that wrasse, including intensively cultured ballan wrasse naïve of either salmon or salmon lice, can be introduced into sea cages on salmon farms and keep salmon lice loads at very low levels.
	Citation:	Anne Berit Skiftesvik, Reidun M. Bjelland, Caroline M.F. Durif, Inger S. Johansen, Howard I. Browman . Delousing of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) by cultured vs. wild ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta). Aquaculture, Volume 403, Numbers 1-4 (July 2013), pp. 113-118, <http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=44109582E5A3CB3C93B9&gt;
	URL:	http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=44109582E5A3CB3C93B9

These are some fantastic marine turtle resources shared by Dr Greg Lewbart:

You might find these sites of value:

http://www.seaturtlehospital.org

http://www.turtlehospital.org/

http://www.seaturtlesociety.org/

And these books:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/listing/2688902959084?r=1&cm_mmca2=pla&cm_mmc=GooglePLA-_-Book_45Up-_-Q000000633-_-2688902959084