The Fish Vet's Blog

That’s very cruel and I saw it previously on a TV show called “Japanese Mad About Fish”. There are some very sick people out there is all I can say.

This was brought to my attention by, Faheem Noor.

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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.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383

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What do you get if you cross a hydroponics setup with seahorses?

Hydroponies.

I’ve been able to grow vine crops (cherry tomatoes, peas), herbs (mint, coriander) and lettuce. Other crops you can try include strawberries, Asian veggies and wheat grass.

Check out pics of my setup at http://www.facebook.com/thefishvetdrloh

Make sure you LIKE the “fin” page.

Shark netting, drum lines, exclusion areas / swimming enclosures?

Check out the latest findings as it applies to Perth’s beaches:

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/wa-shark-report-open-to-the-public/story-e6frg13u-1226463792738?from=public_rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Dr Don Stremme shared this with us:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/How-Can-a-Jellyfish-This-Slow-Be-So-Deadly-Its-Invisible-165590366.html?utm_source=smithsoniantopic&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120902-Weekender

The rule of thumb in most aquaria, it is recommended to feed the fish two to three times a day, as much as they will consume within 5 minutes. The case might be different in seahorses. Reading this article, I wonder if we can glean from it that seahorses should be fed more continuously through the daytime and not at all during the night, “The gut of caged seahorses was generally full during daytime but declined in the evening, becoming almost empty at midnight”

Aquaculture
Volume 359, Number 5 (August 2012)
	Diet composition and feeding periodicity of the seahorse Hippocampus barbourireared in illuminated sea cages
	Authors:	Luis Maria B. Garcia, Grace V. Hilomen-Garcia, Fritzie T. Celino, Tomas T. Gonzales, Ronald J. Maliao
	Author Affiliations:	no affiliations available
	Source:	Aquaculture, Volume 359, Number 5 (August 2012)
	Page Numbers:	1 – 5
	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 zooplankton prey composition and feeding periodicity of juvenile and adult seahorses Hippocampus barbourireared in illuminated and non-illuminated sea cages were compared. Mean frequency of occurrence (%FO), prey composition (%N), and gut fullness of seahorses were calculated from analyses of gut contents. Compared with juvenile seahorses, adults consumed more variety of prey consisting of copepods, larvae of decapods, polychaetes and fish, and euphausid shrimps. Calanoid copedods were found in the gut of more juvenile (%FO=47) and adult (%FO=64) seahorses in illuminated cages but harpacticoid copepods were ingested by more juvenile fish (%FO=50) in non-illuminated cages. Decapod larvae (%N=66) in illuminated cages dominated the diet of juvenile seahorses, whereas in non-illuminated cages harpacticoid copepods (%N=59) did. Calanoid copepods and decapod larvae (%N=91–97) comprised the bulk of ingested prey among adult seahorses in all experimental cages. The gut of caged seahorses was generally full during daytime but declined in the evening, becoming almost empty at midnight, particularly among juveniles. Cage illumination commencing at midnight increased the number of filled guts at dawn (0400h) among juvenile and adult seahorses. Unlike adult seahorses over a 24-h period, the overall incidence of filled guts among juveniles was not different between those in non-illuminated and illuminated cages. These results provide an alternative to growing caged H. barbourion cultured live food, particularly copepods attracted by night illumination.
	Citation:	Luis Maria B. Garcia, Grace V. Hilomen-Garcia, Fritzie T. Celino, Tomas T. Gonzales, Ronald J. Maliao . Diet composition and feeding periodicity of the seahorse Hippocampus barbourireared in illuminated sea cages. Aquaculture, Volume 359, Number 5 (August 2012), pp. 1-5, <http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=4A6C89E79B3A8C923BAE&gt;
	URL:	http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=4A6C89E79B3A8C923BAE

This arrived to me via several sources including AquavetMed eNews, WAVMA and NOVICE:

NOVICE International Conference – Aquatic Veterinary Education Programme

The 2012 NOVICE Conference is scheduled for October 4-5, 2012 at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bucharest, Romania. NOVICE is the Network Of Veterinary Information & Communication Technology in Education, an EU funded Project which aims to investigate the use of Web 2.0 tools for lifelong learning and the development of a veterinary online community, seewww.noviceproject.eu for more information.

The conference and aquatic programme seek to bring together individual involved with, or interested in current and future aquatic veterinary education throughout the world. In particular, interactive and didactic workshops will focus on new approaches and models for supplementing veterinary curricula, continued education & professional development, and life-long learning.

Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss and conclude innovative approaches using Web 2.0 and other e-media, to fulfill a rapidly growing need for well qualified aquatic veterinarians, with the following objectives:

• To increase awareness and emphasize important developments in global aquatic veterinary education

• To illustrate advances in using NOVICE for training future aquatic veterinary practitioners

Aquatic Veterinary Education Programme Specifics

Thursday, October 4, 2012

11:45 A. David Scarfe “International Approaches to Expanding Aquatic Veterinary Educational and Day-One Competency”

13:45-15:15 (Workshop) Theme – “Supplementing Veterinary Curricula & CEPD with Aquatic Veterinary Medicine” (A. David Scarfe moderator/facilitator)

Du¹an Paliæ (15 min) “WAVMA Aquatic Veterinary Day-One Competency Program”

Richmond Loh (15 min) “Aquatic Veterinary Board Certification & Specialization Programs”

Greg Lewbart (15 min) “Encouraging Aquatic Courses in Veterinary School Curricula”

Facilitated speaker/audience discussion (45 min) will focus on “Identifying Future Directions & Needs for Aquatic Veterinary Curriculum Courses & Continuing Education & Professional Development”

Friday, October 5, 1012

12:15 Laura-Daniela Urdes “Promoting Aquatic Vet Education through NOVICE & Other Social Media”

13:45-15:15 (Workshop) Theme – “NOVICE & Web-based Aquatic Veterinary Education Programs” (Laura-Daniela Urdes moderator/facilitator)

Jaime Rofina (15 min) “University of Utrecht’s NOVICE Fish Medicine Course”

Devon Dublin (15 min) “Using NOVICE and Other Social Media to Promote Aquatic Veterinary Medicine”

Chris Walster (15 min) “WAVMA WebCEPD (Webinars) for Global Aquatic Veterinary Education”

Facilitated speaker/audience discussion (45 min) will focus on “Identifying Future Directions & Needs for NOVICE, Social Media & Other Web-based Platforms for Expanding Aquatic Veterinary Education”

For more information on the full NOVICE Conference, housing & registration go towww.novice-conference.com.

A flyer is attached for further distribution.

Aquatic Stream Schedule.pdf

From page 5 of today’s West Australian.

Really?

In many cultured animals, increasing the day length has been associated with increased feed intake and therefore, increased growth rate. The reverse seems to be true for the arctic charr, at least in the juvenile phase.http://www.thefishvet.com.au

Aquaculture
Volume 353, Number 11 (June 2012)
	Enhanced growth of farmed Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) following a short-day photoperiod
	Authors:	Snorri Gunnarsson, Albert K. Imsland, Sten I. Siikavuopio, Jón Árnason, Arnþór Gústavsson, Helgi Thorarensen
	Author Affiliations:	no affiliations available
	Source:	Aquaculture, Volume 353, Number 11 (June 2012)
	Page Numbers:	75 – 81
	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 short and long term effects of short photoperiods on growth and maturity were investigated in 240 individually tagged juvenile Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). The Arctic charr were reared at constant temperature (12°C) and on four different light regimes; one group on continuous light (LD24:0) as control and three groups experienced a period of short day (LD8:16) on a three subsequent 6week periods i.e. 24th September–6thNovember (LD8:16Sep–Nov), 6th November–19th December (LD8:16Nov–Dec), 19th December-29th January (LD8:16Dec–Jan). Before and after the short photoperiod treatment the groups were reared at continuous light. The growth of the fish was monitored over a period of 11months. At the termination of the experiment in September 2009, the body mass of the three groups receiving a short day period (LD8:16 Sep–Nov, LD8:16 Nov–Dec and LD8:16 Dec–Jan) was significantly higher (13.9%, 12.9% and 10.7% respectively) than that of the group reared at continuous light (LD24:0). The three groups receiving the short photoperiod did not differ in weight at the end of the trial so the time of the year at which the short photoperiod was applied did not seem to be of importance regarding the growth enhancement. The maturation rate did not appear to be affected by the photoperiod treatments. The improved growth was mainly a result of a higher feed intake and improved feed conversion efficiency for the period following transfer of the charr from a short photoperiod to the continuous light. Application of such a winter photoperiod during the juvenile phase can, therefore, be used as a tool to increase the biomass and growth rate in Arctic charr farming.
	Citation:	Snorri Gunnarsson, Albert K. Imsland, Sten I. Siikavuopio, Jón Árnason, Arnþór Gústavsson, Helgi Thorarensen . Enhanced growth of farmed Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) following a short-day photoperiod. Aquaculture, Volume 353, Number 11 (June 2012), pp. 75-81, ;
	URL:	http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=4242A8AA50DD97827D52

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