Thank you for following me this past year. Have a safe and happy new year to all from Dr Richmond Loh, The Fish Vet.
Help, I need a local vet for my fish!
If you are not in Perth or Melbourne and require a veterinarian to see your fish, email your details to thefishvet@gmail.com
Dr Loh has a mailing list of veterinarians who may be in your area who can help.
You may also wish to point your regular veterinarian to have a copy “Fish Vetting Essentials” on hand to help with caring for your fish.
However, if the condition permits, you may be able to organise for a site visit.
What role does a lab play in aquatic animal health?
The role of the diagnostic laboratory in fish
disease control
disease controlU.S.  Fish and Wildlife Service, National Fish Health Research Laboratory, Box 700, Kearneysville, West Virginia 25430 USA |
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fish Disease Control Center, P.O. Box 1595, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54602-1595 USA |
Available online 22 September 2003.
Abstract
The diagnostic laboratory is becoming increasingly important to the productivity and profitability of hatcheries, fish farms, and aquaculture stations. The basic function of the laboratory personnel is to isolate and identify viral, bacterial, protozoan, and other fish pathogens present in cultured and feral fish stocks. New, rapid and accurate methods for the detection and identification of fish disease agents based on immunological, biochemical, and physiological assays are becoming commonly used. Nearly every North American state or province and many foreign countries have fish health regulations that require inspection of stocks for certain disease agents before the fish are shipped into their areas. Decisions from the diagnostic laboratory on identification, treatment, guaranteed isolation, immunization, and disposal of fish populations affect administrative directives, hatchery placement, and national and international transportation of fish and fish products. This paper reviews concepts and describes the equipment, supplies, biologics, and media needed for the basic diagnostic laboratory. Information management, including training of staff, certification procedures, and quality control are also discussed.
Keywords: Fish; Disease; Diagnostic Laboratory; Pathology
View full article here:
Where in the world would you find Fish Vetting Essentials?
You will be glad to know that Fish Vetting Essentials has gained recognition with veterinarians and aquariasts around the world purchasing this highly useful and practical text book on fish health and medicine. Just some of the countries the book has been exported to include:
- American Samoa
- Australia
- Belgium
- England
- Hong Kong
- Japan
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Singapore
- USA
View Sample Pages of Fish Vetting Essentials.
To order your copy of the latest Fish Vetting Essentials, visit thefishvet.com.au or click here to proceed directly to the shopping cart.
Fish exams for veterinarians – to certify expertise.
Aquatic Animal Health (or “Fish” health) is a growing area of public interest and associated veterinary activity. Veterinarians are rightly seen as independent guardians and experts in fish health and there is a need, understood within the profession, for specialised knowledge of this complex area to be appropriately recognised.
The establishment of the Aquatic Animal Health Membership subject within the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (ANZCVS) in 2001 signified the growing need and interest in the veterinary profession to gain advanced knowledge, and recognition of this knowledge, in the discipline of aquatic animal health.
The membership subject has been well received and now sixteen veterinarians are members of the ANZ College in Aquatic Animal Health by examination. There is continued strong interest in the subject, with several veterinarians enrolled to sit Membership exams in the subject in 2012.
There are several veterinarians who predominately work with fish as their main stay. There are veterinarians who have the expertise and skills but lack the official qualification.
The examination in aquatic animal health creates this qualification and formalises the training pathway. If the veterinary profession is to further its involvement in aquatic animal health and meet the expectations of the public, industry and government, then it needed to provide the opportunity to enable veterinarians to become specialists in the field and be recognised for this specialisation. The ANZ College fulfils this need through a rigorous programme of training and examination.
Three-eyed fish. Is it Blinky?
This made the headlines last October for those who missed it.
Caught from waters near the nuclear power plant.
Blood test for fish – as part of a koi wellness program.
Few studies have utilised blood testing in fish because of a large number of complicating factors. One of the major complicating factros is that fish are “cold-blooded” animals, many of their enzymes and biological processes continue to occur even at room temperature (this is different to mammals where things tend to stabilise). So, blood samples drawn from fishes need to be analysed immediately. The article below details biochemical reference ranges for koi carp.
Abstract
March 1, 2007, Vol. 230, No. 5, Pages 708-712
doi: 10.2460/javma.230.5.708
Plasma biochemical reference intervals for koi
Brian S. Palmeiro, VMD; Karen L. Rosenthal, DVM, MS, DABVP; Gregory A. Lewbart, MS, VMD, DACZM; Frances S. Shofer, PhD
Department of Clinical Studies–Philadelphia, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (Palmeiro, Rosenthal, Shofer); Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606 (Lewbart)
Supported by Abaxis Incorporated.
The authors thank Larry S. Christian for technical assistance.
Address correspondence to Dr. Palmeiro.
Objective—To assess reproducibility of an in-house tabletop biochemical analyzer for measurement of plasma biochemical analytes and establish reference intervals in adult koi.
Design—Prospective study.
Animals—71 healthy adult koi.
Procedures—Plasma was analyzed for concentrations or activities of albumin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, bile acids, BUN, calcium, cholesterol, creatine kinase, γ-glutamyltransferase, globulin, glucose, K, Na, P, total bilirubin, total protein, and uric acid. Duplicate samples were evaluated by use of the intraclass correlation coefficient to determine reproducibility. To assess the magnitude of differences between replicate samples, the absolute mean difference, SD, and minimum and maximum values were calculated for each analyte. Median values and reference intervals were calculated.
Results—Intraclass correlation coefficient values were excellent for all analytes except alanine aminotransferase (good), Na (poor), γ-glutamyltransferase (poor), and P (poor). Reference intervals were established.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The in-house tabletop biochemical analyzer had good precision for measuring most plasma biochemical analytes. Further research and comparison with other reference procedures are needed before reference intervals and precision can be established for globulin, Na, P, K, and albumin. Aquatic veterinarians may be able to use the reference intervals for adult koi as an important diagnostic tool or as part of a fish wellness program, as commonly done in other domestic species.
Crocodiles on the loose!
From today’s West Australian.
Gladstone Harbour deaths still unexplained.
Antibiotic treatment options for ornamental fish
I often received calls from clients wanting antibiotics because they’ve tried treating their fish with everything was available at their local fish shop, but to no avail. The following paragraphs are excerpts from ‘Lewbart G, Bacteria and ornamental fish. Original Research Article, Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2001, Pages 48-56.’ My comments are italicised and in brackets. It is a great explanation for the difficulties pet fish owners and fish veterinarians face when dealing with bacterial infections in fish.
“In the United States it is against Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) regulations for pet stores to sell and prescribe medication for fish and in most states it is illegal for non-veterinarians to make a diagnosis and institute therapy. However, these laws are rarely enforced because most regulatory efforts focus on keeping drug residues out of the human food supply. [Much of this is relevant in Australia. The Australian equivalent of the FDA is the APVMA.]
Two interesting studies examined the problem of over the counter medications and resistance of bacterial pathogens to a wide variety of antimicrobials. The investigators found that the manufacturer’s recommended dosing regimens were grossly inadequate to control pathogens and that aquarium water frequently contains bacteria resistant to one or more antibiotic agents. For example Citrobacter freundii (218 strains) were 100% resistant to penicillin, 99% resistant to tetracycline, 74% resistant to sulphonamide, 56% resistant to kanamycin, 47% resistant to chloramphenicol and 24% resistant to nitrofurantoin. In another more recent study, 42 isolates of Aeromonas hydrophila and A. sobria were tested against 12 antimicrobial compounds. All of the isolates were resistant to ampicilin and over 70% were resistant to tetracycline. In this report, all of the isolates were sensitive to ceftiofur. [I have also found similar results in practice]
Antibiotics commonly used by veterinarians in the US to treat bacterial diseases of ornamental fish include amikacin, enrofloxacin, ceftazidime, florfenicol, nitrofurazone, tetracycline and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.” [Note that veterinarians are only allowed to prescribe medication to a patient under their care. (i.e. they must have seen the patient at least once that year)]
Excerpt from: Bacteria and ornamental fish Original Research Article
Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2001, Pages 48-56
Gregory A. Lewbart