The Fish Vet's Blog

One of my friends alerted me to a new product available –

What are your thoughts?

My thoughts…

too small, no heater and not sure if there is sufficient filtration for fish. Not bad if it is to be used as a vase or a rubbish bin.

I was teaching again at Murdoch University yesterday and thought I’d share this idea with you.

Whenever I teach a group of students, I always ask the participants, “How many people have kept fish in their life?”

Usually, 1/3 of the class would show their hands.

My next question would be, “Of those who have kept fish before, how many no longer keep fish?”

Two thirds of the respondents would show their hands.

Do you know why these people give up? The resounding answer is, “Because they died.” And their experience is that deaths would occur in the first few weeks of fishkeeping.

A lot of people are amazed when I tell them that the lifespan of a goldfish could be 15-20 years or more, but unfortunately, the average lifespan of a goldfish in captivity could be as low as less than one month! Why is this so?

The most common problem is new tank syndrome. It is a real invisible killer of fish and the hobby. Fish keepers must familiarise themselves with this ahead of anything else when they do their research. And this is always my emphasis whenever I teach about fish health. This condition can also affect established tanks!

I have deviated from my point…

So, in a class of 100 veterinary students, 33 would have kept fish before and of these, we would lose 22 of these from the hobby. The ornamental fish industry would do much better if everyone worked together to educate new hobbyists about fish keeping. Just imagine, our industry could be at least three times the size it is now!

How can we do this?

Every fish store and pet shop should have leaflets to hand to new hobbyists so that their customers may learn about the nitrogen cycle and that shops should request the new owners to test their water regularly in the start-up phase, or to request them to bring their water in for testing.

A federal court judge has ordered the Food and Drug Administration to take action on its own 35-year-old rule that would stop farmers from mixing popular antibiotics into animal feed, a practice which is widely believed to have led to a surge in dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria. ..

http://www.statesman.com/life/health-medical/court-orders-fda-action-on-antibiotic-use-on-2257361.html

Skretting Australasian Aquaculture 2012; 6-10 May 2012; Melbourne, Victoria Australia:

The 2012
international conference is hosted by
Asian Pacific Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society and the Australian National Aquaculture Council. The naming rights sponsor is Skretting, while the sponsors are Australia’s Fisheries Research and
Development Corporation and Melbourne Australia.

The theme for this year’s meeting is “The Next Ten Years” and in the words of the organizers “Whether it be genetic improvement of farmed species, advances in health management, increased production efficiency, or higher product quality for consumers – the aquaculture industry continues to develop innovative and sustainable practices” the theme is apropos. The conference per se will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, with several conference hotels close nearby. For additional information refer to the conference website.