The Fish Vet's Blog

I had always noticed a difference in the frequency of mucus cells over the surface of the fish through my work, and now we have a report that quantifies it!

Journal of Fish Diseases
Volume 36, Number 2 (February 2013)
	Body site matters: an evaluation and application of a novel histological methodology on the quantification of mucous cells in the skin of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.
	Authors:	K Pittman, A Pittman, S Karlson, T Cieplinska, P Sourd, K Redmond, B Ravnøy, E Sweetman
	Author Affiliations:	no affiliations available
	Source:	Journal of Fish Diseases, Volume 36, Number 2 (February 2013)
	Page Numbers:	115 – 127
	Available Full Text:	Full Text: Subscription Required to view full text Format: PDF Size: unknown Location: Publisher’s Site Authentication: EBSCOhost EJS
	Abstract:	Mucous cell size and distribution were investigated in the skin of five salmon using a novel stereology-based methodology: one (48 cm) fish to test 15 tissue treatment combinations on measures of cell area and density on the dorsolateral region and, using the most suitable treatment, we mapped mucous cell differences between body regions on four (52 cm) salmon, comprising a male and a female on each of two diets. The section site, decalcification, embedding medium and plane of sectioning all impacted significantly on mucous cell size, whereas mucous cell density is more robust. There were highly significant differences in both mucosal density and mean mucous cell size depending on body site: the dorsolateral skin of the four salmon had significantly denser (about 8% of skin area) and larger (mean about 160 µm2) mucous cells, whereas the lowest mean density (about 4%) and smallest mean area (115 µm2) were found on the head. We found that 100 random measurements may be sufficient to distinguish differences >7 µm2in mean mucous cell areas. The results further suggest that salmon exhibit a dynamic repeatable pattern of mucous cell development influenced by sex, diet and possibly strain and season.
	Citation:	K Pittman, A Pittman, S Karlson, T Cieplinska, P Sourd, K Redmond, B Ravnøy, E Sweetman . Body site matters: an evaluation and application of a novel histological methodology on the quantification of mucous cells in the skin of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.. Journal of Fish Diseases, Volume 36, Number 2 (February 2013), pp. 115-127, <http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=41639E48C3F2C086D053&gt;
	URL:	http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=41639E48C3F2C086D053

This article illustrates how important it is to check the fish health, treat or quarantine new fishes before introducing to your tank.

Aquaculture
Volume 379, Number 7 (February 2013)
	Naturally infected channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) concurrently transmit Ichthyophthirius multifiliisand Edwardsiella ictalurito naïve channel catfish
	Authors:	De-Hai Xu, Craig A. Shoemaker, Qizhong Zhang, Phillip H. Klesius
	Author Affiliations:	no affiliations available
	Source:	Aquaculture, Volume 379, Number 7 (February 2013)
	Page Numbers:	133 – 136
	Available Full Text:	Full Text: Subscription Required to view full text Format: PDF Size: Unknown Location: Publisher’s Site Authentication: Publisher’s Site
	Abstract:	There is no information available whether fish naturally coinfected with Ichthyophthirius multifiliis(Ich) and Edwardsiella ictalurican concurrently transmit both pathogens to naïve fish. The objective of this study was to expose naïve channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) to naturally infected fish that carried Ich and E. ictalurito provide clinical evidence for transmission of both pathogens. Three tanks of fish were exposed to naturally coinfected fish and two tanks were utilized as mock-infected controls in each of two trials. In trial I, 34 out of 60 fish (56.7%) exposed to two infected fish per tank died at day one. All remaining fish died two days post exposure. Of the dead fish, all showed heavy Ich infection and E. ictaluriwas isolated from the kidney of 60% of the dead catfish. In trial II, the cumulative mortality in fish exposed to 2 coinfected fish per tank was less than 20% during days 1–7 post exposure. Most of the fish died from 8 to 14days post exposure to the coinfected fish. Ninety-six percent of fish were positive for both Ich and E. ictaluriin trial II. The results demonstrated that fish naturally coinfected with Ich and E. ictaluricould concomitantly transmit both pathogens to naïve fish. In aquaculture management, precaution is needed to thoroughly examine fish prior to shipment or purchase to prevent the spread of aquatic animal pathogens.
	Citation:	De-Hai Xu, Craig A. Shoemaker, Qizhong Zhang, Phillip H. Klesius . Naturally infected channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) concurrently transmit Ichthyophthirius multifiliisand Edwardsiella ictalurito naïve channel catfish. Aquaculture, Volume 379, Number 7 (February 2013), pp. 133-136, <http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=4443A314A0E5EB1B9A39&gt;
	URL:	http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=4443A314A0E5EB1B9A39

From:| News.com.au

http://mobile.news.com.au/travel/news/theres-something-fishy-about-this-hotel-prank/story-e6frfq80-1226577716991

I found the video here – http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?sns=fb&v=fvg9PlzawlA&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dfvg9PlzawlA%26sns%3Dfb&gl=GB

WAVMA/AVMA Aquaculture 2013 Aquatic Vet Sessions Meeting of World Aquaculture Society, National Shellfisheries Association and American Fisheries Society, Fish Culture Section

Location: Nashville Convention Center, Nashville, TN

Registration opens and Welcome Reception: February 21

Exhibition open: February 22, 23, 24

Conference dates: February 22, 23, 24, 25

Make plans to attend the 2-day “Advancing Aquatic Veterinary Medicine, Fish Health & Disease” program sponsored by AVMA, WAVMA and Merck Animal Health (see attached schedule) and earn up to 10 hours of Veterinary Continuing Education & Professional Development credit by participating in this 2-day program! For USDA Accredited Veterinarians, earn additional APHIS CE credit towards re-accreditation.

For details on the full Aquaculture 2013 Conference, including registration and hotel accommodation, go to www.WAS.org.

Visit the AVMA & WAVMA Booths (#529 &531) to discover more about Aquatic Veterinary Medicine.

______________________

A. David ScarfePhD, DVM, MRSSAf

American Veterinary Medical Association

Direct phone: (847) 285-6634

dscarfe

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Yours sincerely,

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

In some aquaculture industries, it is good going if you can get 50% survival through weaning (i.e. moving fish from live feeds to artificial diets). So if you’re using barramundi as an example, it’s quite lucky then that they are highly fecund, with a single female (> 120 cm total length) capable of producing up to 46 million eggs! With numbers like these, each 1% increase in survival could give you about half a million more fingerlings! Imagine that!

In traditional aquaculture, there are usually abrupt husbandry changes made – e.g. when changing diet, changing tank size, grading, etc. This research paper gives us a new way of thinking. Could we perhaps incorporate some overlaps in feeding practices. Instead of going ‘cold turkey’ from live foods (e.g. artemia) to finely ground artificial diets, would it be a better idea to offer both foods at the same time?

Fish do learn off each other, just as other animals (and humans!). Some fish are more adventurous and are more willing to try different things. Some fish may recognise the artificial diet as food earlier than others, and when tank mates observe others eating this, they too will give it a go.

So, even though the article below may not be exactly the species you’re dealing with, you can draw parallels from other industries. There’s no point ‘re-inventing the wheel’.

Research
Volume 44, Number 3 (February 2013)
Fine tuning of feeding practices for hatchery produced Persian sturgeon, Acipenser persicusand Beluga sturgeon, Huso huso

Authors: N. Agh, F. Noori, A. Irani, G. Stappen, P. Sorgeloos
Author Affiliations:
no affiliations available
Source: Aquaculture Research, Volume 44, Number 3 (February 2013)
Page Numbers: 335 – 344
Available Full Text:
Full Text: Subscription Required to view full text
Format: PDF
Size: unknown
Location: Publisher’s Site
Authentication: EBSCOhost EJS

Abstract: In this work, we investigated the effects of various feeding treatments on the survival and growth of Huso husoand Acipenser persicuslarvae during a 20-day culture period. Three replicate groups (250 fish/replicate) of first-feeding larvae were fed according to four main feeding regimes: (1) live food (live nauplii of brine shrimp Artemia urmiana); (2) indirect transition (5–7 days live food followed by gradual transition to formulated diet); (3) direct transition (using different combinations of live and formulated diet from the start feeding onwards); and (4) formulated feed (FD) from the start of feeding. In H. husolarvae, combining live food and manufactured diets (co-feeding) from the first feeding stage onwards (direct transition) resulted in significantly higher weight gain than the other regimes. Survival was significantly higher in H. husolarvae fed solely live food or the direct transition regimes compared with indirect transition and FD. In A. persicuslarvae, growth and survival were higher in the indirect transition feeding regime than in the other regimes. On the basis of the results of this study, we recommend co-feeding of H. husoimmediately from the commencement of exogenous feeding, but co-feeding of A. persicusshould start 7 days after prior feeding with live food.
Citation: N. Agh, F. Noori, A. Irani, G. Stappen, P. Sorgeloos . Fine tuning of feeding practices for hatchery produced Persian sturgeon, Acipenser persicusand Beluga sturgeon, Huso huso. Aquaculture Research, Volume 44, Number 3 (February 2013), pp. 335-344,
URL: http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=47E39FD102DC4D2ACEEB

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Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh
BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Vet Path), MANZCVS (Aquatics), MANZCVS (Pathobiology), DipPM.
Veterinarian | Adjunct Senior Lecturer Murdoch University | WAVMA President-Elect |
Secretary Aquatic Animal Health Chapter – Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (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

Find it at this site –

http://www.ornamentalfish.org/fish-keeper/useful-information

It includes the following…

‘How To’ Guides:

• 01 Set up and maintain a freshwater aquarium – (pdf)
• 02 Set up and maintain a marine aquarium – (pdf)
• Set up and maintain a Wildlife Pond – (pdf)
• 03 Understand and test water quality – (pdf)
• Setting up a pond – (pdf)
• Setting up a Aquarium – (pdf)

‘How To’ Videos:

• Learn How To Keep Fish
• Keeping Goldfish Successfully
• Setting Up A Goldfish Aquarium
• Keeping Tropical Freshwater Fish Successfully
• Setting Up A Tropical Freshwater Aquarium
• Keeping Marine Fish Successfully
• Setting Up A Marine Aquarium

Quick QR Code List of Available Care Sheets:

• Care Sheet QR Code List – (pdf)

Care Sheets for Coldwater Fish:

• 10 Goldfish – (pdf)
• 11 Fancy Goldfish – (pdf)
• 12 Pond Fish – (pdf)

Care Sheets for Tropical Freshwater Fish:

• 20 Hillstream Loach, White Cloud Mountain Minnows & Weather Loaches – (pdf)
• 21 Tetras, Rasboras and Danios – (pdf)
• 22 Guppies, Swordtails, Mollies and Platies – (pdf)
• 23 Barbs – (pdf)
• 24 Bettas, Gouramis and Paradise Fish – (pdf)
• 25 Rainbowfish – (pdf)
• 26 Freshwater Sharks – (pdf)
• 27 Dwarf Cichlids – (pdf)
• 28 Discus – (pdf)
• 29 American Cichlids – (pdf)
• 30 African Malawi Cichlids – (pdf)
• 31 Rare and Unusual Species – (pdf)
• 32 Aggressive Species – (pdf)
• 33 Catfish – (pdf)
• 34 Tropical Algae Eaters – (pdf)
• 35 Killifish – (pdf)
• 36 Loaches – (pdf)
• 37 Wild Caught Freshwater Fish – (pdf)
• 38 Tank Busters – (pdf)

Care Sheets for Tropical Freshwater Invertebrates & Plants:

• 50 Freshwater Shrimps & Snails – (pdf)
• 51 Crayfish & Crabs – (pdf)
• 52 Freshwater Plants – (pdf)

Care Sheets for Brackish Fish:

• 60 Monos, Scats, Archers & Puffers – (pdf)

Care Sheets for Marine Fish:

• 70 Clownfish, Damselfish, Chromis & Basslets – (pdf)
• 71 Blennies, Gobies, Jawfish, Dwarf Wrasse & Dartfish – (pdf)
• 72 Butterflyfish & Tangs – (pdf)
• 73 Dwarf Angelfish – (pdf)
• 74 Angelfish – (pdf)
• 75 Seahorses & Pipefish – (pdf)
• 76 Large Marine Fish Groupers, Morays & Triggerfish – (pdf)
• 77 Venomous & Poisonous Marine Species – (pdf)

Care Sheets for Marine Invertebrates & Plants:

• 90 Corals – (pdf)
• 91 Anemones – (pdf)
• 92 Marine Molluscs, Crabs & Shrimps – (pdf)
• 93 Starfish, Sea Urchins & Sea Cucumbers – (pdf)

Care Sheets for Aquatic Reptiles:

• 100 Terrapins & Turtles – (pdf)

Zoonoses

Zoonoses Document

The following information was taken from: http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/ame/seavet/

SeaVet Clinical Training is an intensive nine day course designed to teach veterinary medical students and veterinarians through didactic lecture, case-based problem-solving and practical experience. The program also features an educational and interactive hands-on training.

This course is being offered exclusively for Veterinary Students and Licensed Veterinarians. This year it will be held from 3-13 June 2013.

Course topics include:

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—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh
BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Vet Path), MANZCVS (Aquatics), MANZCVS (Pathobiology), DipPM.
Veterinarian | Adjunct Senior Lecturer Murdoch University | WAVMA President-Elect |
Secretary Aquatic Animal Health Chapter – Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (ANZCVS)
The Fish Vet, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA.

This is not quite a fish-specific topic, however, one of my colleagues is working on an issue whereby fish farmers and fishermen look to be affected by poisons that are affecting their fishes in a detrimental way (see https://thefishvet.com/?s=gladstone). And this article caught my attention because it suggests the use of different methodologies to assess toxicity since the current methods are inadequate. Also, for those who use Round-up (glyphosate) in their gardens or fields, this article might apply to you.

This article made the top 25 reads during the period October to December 2012 on SciVerse.

Some excerpts from the article to consider –

“Roundup provoked chronic hormone and sex dependent pathologies.”

“The first large detectable tumors occurred at 4 and 7 months into the study in males and females respectively, underlining the inadequacy of the standard 90 day feeding trials for evaluating GM crop and food toxicity”

“Reproductive and multigenerational studies will also provide novel insights into these problems.”

“the study presented here clearly demonstrate that lower levels of complete agricultural glyphosate herbicide formulations, at concentrations well below officially set safety limits, induce severe hormone-dependent mammary, hepatic and kidney disturbances.”

Learn more here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691512005637

What do you call a well behaved octopus?

A naughty-less (nautilus).

Recently I received a forwarded email with graphic images of a person with blood exuding from their eyes, nose and mouth, claiming that this fatality was caused by a combination of eating large amounts of vitamin C and prawns.

Is it true?

I quick search of clinical signs associated with acute arsenic toxicosis did not feature bleeding (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/20950314/).

Read more at: http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/shrimp.asp#XLGmXkzShQwZbJ5W.99

In this day and age, I just really wonder why people are still out there, disseminating misinformation. It makes my blood boil!