Dr Richmond Loh (BSc, BVMS, MANZCVS, MPhil) is a fully qualified veterinarian surgeon, who graduated from the veterinary school at Murdoch University. He diagnoses fish diseases and provides fish medicine. The Fish Vet has a mobile veterinary clinic and makes home visits to see your fish in their aquarium, pond, tank or dam. So whether you are a fish keeper, fish hobbyist, fish farmer, aquaculturist, ornamental fish retailer, fish wholesaler, fish exporter or a public aquarium or zoo, The Fish Vet can see you. Some of Dr Loh’s patients include Siamese fighting fish, guppies, goldfish, koi carp, cichlid (such as oscars, discus, angel fish and Malawi cichlids), marine fishes (such as clown fish, seahorses, sharks, rays), or large fishes such as murray cod, giant gourami and saratoga (the Australian version of the arowana or otherwise known as dragon fish). So you can think of him as an aquarium doctor, pond doctor, koi doctor, aqua vet, fish vet, aquarium vet, doctor fish or fish doctor.
A routine home visit will involve water testing (including pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, carbonate hardness, general hardness, water temperature, etc.) and he will have special tools including a microscope to examine for the cause of your fish’s ailments and has access to laboratory testing (including bacteriology and histology testing). In his fish mobil, Dr Loh has a mobile fish pharmacy, and carries all the medicines/medications (e.g. metronidazole or Flagyl, antibiotics such as enrofloxacin or Baytril, praziquantel or fish wormer, fish anaesthetics) necessary for treating fish diseases. These fish medicines are on hand and can be dispensed immediately to treat your fish since time is of the essence. He has all the fish dose rates and can give in-water medication or injections. Otherwise, veterinary prescriptions can be written if the drug is not in stock for you to obtain it from your local chemist.
Common reasons why fish owners call The Fish Vet are because they have sick fish or had searched the internet about any of the following topics that may include viral infection, lymphocystis, gourami iridovirus, carp pox, herpesvirus, bacterial infection, bacterial ulcer, aeromonas, yersiniosis, Yersinia, vibrio, vibriosis, flavobacter, flexibacter, streptococcus iniae, mycobacteria, fish tb, fish tuberculosis, septicaemia, bacteraemia, fungal disease, saprolegnia, achlya, cotton wool disease, fish parasite, protozoal, white spot disease, ich, cryptocaryon, trichodina, chilodonella, costia, ichthyobodo, oodinium, amyloodinium, nematode, round worm, camallanus, flat worm, monogenetic trematode, digenean, flukes, dactylogyrus, gyrodactylus, lice, argulus, anchor worm, lernaea, zoonotic diseases, toxicity, bloat, swimbladder disease, swim bladder infection, pine cone appearance, dropsy, pop eye, popeye, exophthalmia, hikui, jumped out, goldfish laying on its side, hole in the head, head and lateral line erosion, HLLE, HITH, cotton wool disease, fin rot, redness, frayed fins, physical injury, buoyancy disorder, loss of appetite, ulcer disease, ulceration, lesions, haemorrhage, columnaris, wasting disease, velvet disease or not eating.
If you are not within driving distance, Dr Richmond Loh has published a book entitled “Fish Vetting Essentials”. Purchase this book and take your sick fish to the local veterinarian to make a correct diagnosis so that you can proceed with the appropriate treatment or management of the issue.