Veterinary Aquatic Solutions

05/18/2023

The firms aiming to help eradicate invasive species by making commercial use of them.

05/18/2023

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65572881 Amazing business model. Invasive species should be high on our list for protecting Canada's waters.

The firms aiming to help eradicate invasive species by making commercial use of them.

04/21/2023

https://reefbuilders.com/2023/04/20/frogfish-has-surgery-to-remove-algae-magnet-its-eaten/

An article published for a client who underwent a procedure to remove a magnet from a frogfish! We successfully removed the magnet, and although things were touch and go with anesthesia, tele-supervising the procedure, and waiting for to regain buoyancy, he is happily back to stalking his tank and snapping up (non-magnetized) snacks! Very cool case I was thrilled to be a part of :)
Big thanks to Dr Allison Bridge and the team at Saulte Ste Marie Animal Hospital for their work from a distance!
🐸🐠🐟🚑🧲

11/08/2021

Treating a Flowerhorn cichlid for a bouyancy disorder and hexamita. The patient was unable to right itself or keep any positive buoyancy after treating for a positive bouyancy previously. The fish also had a history of suspected hexamita (“hole-in-the-head disease”) with clinical signs including anorexia, fin rot, and discolouration. Fish was treated with metronidazole in food and later in water to treat internal and external hexamita. Over 1 week colouration improved, and lesions resolved, but bouyancy became negative after epsom salt baths used to resolve positive bouyancy due to ascites buildup from internal infection. Here fluid is removed using 3-way stopcock and catheter, and floatation (styrofoam) sutured into the dorsum to assist bouyancy temporarily. This fish initially showed signs of improvement throughout treatment, but sadly quality of life could not be maintained and was later euthanized. One of my harder cases as I had a strong rapport with client and a hard-fighting patient.
Posted with permission of owner.

03/03/2021

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/03/asia/shark-bioluminescence-research-scli-intl-scn/index.html Very interesting! A first for photography and for science.

Scientists have taken the first ever photos of a glow-in-the-dark shark producing its own light.

02/17/2021

Continued throwbacks to interning at Melbourne’s SeaLife Aquarium. One of the premier aquariums in the world, I had the opportunity to take part in a capture and ultrasound of a resident Whitetip Reef Shark female. Surprise surprise, she was pregnant! A short while later another female gave birth the the miniature versions which were then isolated for their safety and the safety of other fish. Did you know that requiem sharks like the Whitetip give birth to fully live young?

02/17/2021

Post-mortem aka necropsy of two animals which passed away from natural causes. These two - a Maori Octopus and a species of Lionfish - lived to ripe old ages. The octopus likely died of senescence (common in octopus), while the Lionfish died of unknown etiology. The last slide is from a separate case of a freshwater fish with gill flukes. This could be seen from gill clips in a living animal or part of a necropsy.

02/17/2021

Looks like a very effective way to treat swim bladder buoyancy issues!
A more efficient and cost effective method is using suture and floats to right the fish in the water column until they can retain buoyancy themselves. Dr. Jessie Sanders out of North California Aquatic Veterinary Services has some great cases posted on this method (these methods should only be attempted by a trained veterinarian using anesthesia and pain management***)

02/17/2021

August 2020 - Enucleation of hyperplastic/neoplastic(tumour) in the eye of a 14 year old fancy goldfish. The patient was being prescribed nitrofurazone hence the green hazy colouration of the tank water in the first photo. Suspected bacterial infection was determined to be the cause of damage to both eyes, with one eye in particular having a growing tumour. The client and myself were concerned with the quality of life of the patient as it appeared to be causing pain and/or discomfort. It was decided the best course of action was to remove the eye and growth. The patient was anesthetized and kept wet with moist towel and lavage, and given pain management and anti-inflammatory injection before the eye was excised. Bleeding was treated with clotrisol so a clot could form over the site. Patient was then recovered in a hospital tank and later returned to his tank with tankmates. Healing was fast over the incision site and notable improvement in activity and quality of life was determined by our observation.

02/12/2021

Interesting article on Seahorse dads!

A recent study sheds light on the role male seahorses play in nourishing their babies.

02/09/2021

Targeted Feeding - an advantageous method of feeding which would allow medicating of an individual without affecting the rest its aquarium mates.

02/09/2021

Days in the lab are important in aquatic medicine as we can see a great deal about the health issues of a living system like a pond, net pen, or flow through type containment (most aquariums actually rely a great deal on water “borrowed” from nearby oceans and waterbodies. Some of these samples unfortunately come from deceased individuals of a group. We can look at tissues - both fresh, and fixed into slides- under the microscope and getter a better idea to see if parasites, bacteria, or tissue changes are affecting the rest of the animals. Then we can direct treatment on those groups in order to save the rest of the animals.

02/09/2021

TBT: interning at SeaLife Aquarium Melbourne. Shark breeding was one of the highlights. Here the shark eggs (also known as mermaids purses) can be illuminated with a flashlight to see the shark embryo developing inside.

02/02/2021

Stay Tuned....Page Under Construction

01/18/2021

Even the best cared for fish can develop problems or carry parasites and pathogens from the supplier. This charming Ranchu fancy goldfish, Gregor, is a AAA class ranchu, however even a fish of his pedigree can carry hitch-hikers.

Anchor-worm (Lernaea) are external parasites (copepod crustaceans not actual worms) which embed themselves and grow out of the skin of the fish. They can be quite traumatic and illicit an inflammatory reaction at the site as red itchy welts out of which the parasite feeds and eventually distributes her eggs (all anchor-worms that are visible on fish are females who have mated with males in the water column in a copepod stage).

Gregor and his tank mates Archie and Amber started showing small red spots which quickly developed into inflamed welts with small translucent strands protruding from them. We identified the issue as Anchor-worm, most likely brought into the tank when Gregor was introduced. Gregor showed some abnormal behaviors such as hiding away, lethargy, and mild respiratory distress most probably a result of stress and discomfort from anchor-worm. Since adult Anchor-worm are not susceptible to most available treatment options, the client was willing and able to remove the visible parasites using tweezers and hydrogen peroxide. The tank was treated with two courses of Cyromazine solution. No adult anchor-worm have been seen since the second course of treatment.

The three ranchu are back to their old photogenic selves, and their owner, as well as VAS, could not be happier!

*All photos taken by owner. All information and photographs posted with permission of owner/client.*

01/16/2021

Veterinary Aquatic Solutions is accredited by the College of Veterinarians of Ontario to provide veterinary services to aquatic animals across Ontario.

01/16/2021

01/16/2021

01/16/2021