The Fish Vet's Blog

Take a look at this picture with bottles of water. Without their labels, you may be forgiven for thinking that they’re all the same – just plain water. But their labels give away their water chemistry. From left to right, they are: unbuffered soft water; plain water; hard water; water that is supersaturated with carbon dioxide; and acidic water.

But, what about the water you rear your fish in? They certainly don’t come with labels. How do you know if the water is suitable (or if it’s still suitable) for your fish? Why test?

Elevated ammonia, elevated nitrite, low pH, elevated temperature and low dissolved oxygen are killers of fish. Nitrates can accumulate and lead to immunosuppression. The list goes on.

Moreover water chemistry may change due to many factors. Some parameters vary depending on the time of the day, season, biomass, feed rate, water temperature and more. And the significance of some water parameters are influenced by other parameters (e.g. ammonia is more toxic at higher pH and temperature).

So, what parameters should we be testing regularly? For freshwater systems, we recommend testing regularly for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, KH, GH, water temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen. For planted tanks, include carbon dioxide. For marine tanks, include phosphate, magnesium and calcium.

Watch this video for an example of how you can test your water – https://youtu.be/dWWGw5xt55I

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Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh
DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPh (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics & Pathobiology), CertAqV, CMAVA, NATA Signatory.
Aquatic Veterinarian & Veterinary Pathologist
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA.
Mobile Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383
Skype: thefishvet

President WAVMA 2014

A: In prawndominiums.

Have a FINtastic week! R <+>{

Be careful when doing activities in Canning River.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/toxic-algal-bloom-in-canning-river-may-cause-liver-damage/news-story/0d96a4c913c76ec02b5da4dba13aa420#load-story-comments

 
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Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh 

DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics& Pathobiology), CertAqV, NATA Signatory.
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA. 

Mobile Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383

2016 is WAVMA’s 10th year. We have had great successes as an organization over our first decade, with many more exciting programs to come.

Look for continued WebCEPD classes, an online veterinary tele-conference, monthly industry updates via our eNewsletter, more clinical discussions on the listserv, and original articles and pertinent information in our quarterly journal, ‘The Aquatic Veterinarian’.

Soon we will announce our plans for an exciting Annual General Meeting with Aquatic Veterinary CE and tour opportunities.

Dr Nick Saint-Erne

We now have representatives in Perth (WA), Townsville (Qld), and Melbourne (Victoria).

Contact us now, to give your fish a health check-up.

http://thefishvet.com.au/contact_us.html

Government of Western Australia media statement – Fisheries Minister Ken Baston and Environment Minister Albert Jacob

Media statement

Four millionth prawn for Swan and Canning rivers:

 Fishing licence fees help support restocking projects in WA

 Brings to four million the number of juvenile prawns released since 2013

Successful prawn breeding techniques developed in Western Australia are improving restocking efforts in the Swan and Canning rivers, with another 1.5 million juvenile prawns released so far during 2015-16.

The latest release of 400,000 western school prawns occurred today near Canning Bridge and Matilda Bay – all cultured by the Australian Centre for Applied Aquaculture Research (ACAAR) in Fremantle.

The Department of Parks and Wildlife, Department of Fisheries, Recfishwest, the WA Fish Foundation, ACAAR, Murdoch University, Prawn Watch and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation are working together on the project.

Fisheries Minister Ken Baston said the partnership between government and community groups was helping restore the popular recreational activity of prawning for Perth families.

The historically popular recreational drag netting for prawns had all but disappeared as prawn numbers fell over time. Restocking began in 2013, using fishing licence fees to fund the project.

Between May 2013 and March 2015, 2.5 million juvenile prawns were released into the rivers. Another 1.1 million prawns were released in December 2015. The release this week brings the total number to four million.

“The prawn culture work by ACAAR has stepped up release rates as the staff involved refine their techniques and knowledge,” Mr Baston said.

“This is another example of how recreational fishing licence fees are being re-invested in projects to benefit recreational fishing.”

Environment Minister Albert Jacob said the restocking work had been run in conjunction with the citizen science Prawn Watch program, to encourage stewardship of the rivers.

“We are keen to see the community connect with the river and to experience the pleasure of prawning. They can share information on their catch with us by using the Prawn Watch app,” Mr Jacob said.

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

—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh
DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPh (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics & Pathobiology), CertAqV, CMAVA, NATA Signatory.
Aquatic Veterinarian & Veterinary Pathologist
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA.
Mobile Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383
Skype: thefishvet

President WAVMA 2014

Adjunct Lecturer Murdoch University

Looking for more books? Check out this site.

See advert on YouTube.

Our TheFishVet team member, Giana Bastos Gomes, was the overall winner of the 2016 Science and Innovation Award for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in Australia. Giana is creating a digital device to identify the type and quality of a pathogen on an aquaculture farm. This will avoid the long wait while samples are analysed off site, and allow farmers to treat fish before they show signs of infection. Originally from Brazil, Giana is completing a PhD at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia, with support of the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. Mandy Gyles spoke with Giana after she received her prize.

https://soundcloud.com/mandygyles/detecting-fish-pathogens

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

—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPh (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics & Pathobiology), CertAqV, CMAVA, NATA Signatory.
Aquatic Veterinarian & Veterinary Pathologist
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA.
Mobile Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383

Skype: thefishvet

President WAVMA 2014

Adjunct Lecturer Murdoch University

Dolphins, trumpeter, and now sharks in the Swan River! The waterways have really deviated from pre-European times. There are even artificial oxygenation plants to “improve the health of the rivers.”

https://youtu.be/a7dC9KO9Zw0

 
—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh 

DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics& Pathobiology), CertAqV, NATA Signatory.
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA. 

Mobile Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383

A: swimming trunks

Have a FINtastic week! R <+>{

The WAVMA have a great site on Veterinary Student Externships.

Go to http://www.wavma.org/Externships