If you are interested in accessing the original journal abstract or the  article, Endosymbiotic Bacteria in the Parasitic Ciliate Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. Just click on the title. There are also some beautiful images in the paper.

Interesting stuff with implications for further characterizing the role these bacteria may play in fish infections and new approaches to treatment.

If you are in the Pacific Northwest this is a great evening event. Plan to spend the weekend. Spend the day Saturday at the Hatfield Marine Science Center – Visitor Center (HMSC-VC) and the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Then return to the Oregon Coast Aquarium for an evening of  oysters prepared by our PNW chefs, desserts, wine, various musical entertainments and a chance to view the aquarium at night.

For those that wish to stay overnight in Newport I will offer a tour of our newly remodeled Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory at the Hatfield Marine Science Center Sunday morning at 1030. This is the primary teaching laboratory for the Ornamental Fish Health Program. This facility is where we offer many of our industry oriented training programs as well as programs for our aquarium Scienece students, veterinary students and veterinarians. Please meet me at the Front entrance to the HMSC – VC at 1030.

If you are interested in the Sunday tour please email me by Thursday 11/5 at tim.miller-morgan@oregonstate.edu so that I can get a rough head count. Please put Post Oyster Cloyster Tour in the subject line.

Hope to see you there. It’s a fun event and supports a  great cause, training future aquarists from the ornamental fish industry, public aquaria, aquatic research laboratories and resource hatcheries.

Some other important points that I would also emphasize:

• Learn as much as you can about the particular fish species and their needs in captivity before they are purchased. This research might lead one to decide that a particular fish is not the right species for them to maintain in an aquarium.
• Focus on purchasing healthy fish in the first place. Learn the general signs that indicate a healthy fish as well as a sick fish ( I’ll discuss these in future posts).
• Find a trusted fish supplier that is genuinely concerned about selling healthy fish and educating his or her customers about maintaining healthy fish.
• Seriously consider utilizing a quarantine for all new arrivals before they are added to holding or display tanks (more about this later).

We can all do our part by keeping our fish as healthy as possible. We do this by understanding the needs of the animals in our care, demanding healthy well handled fish from our supplier and by practicing excellent health management while these animals are in our care. These are a few of the small, but important, ways we can work to preserve the wild resources by striving to keep the animals in our care healthy and long-lived.

Can this be a truly green/sustainable industry/hobby? If so, what do you think that would look like in 20 years?

Comments and criticisms?

As the field of aquatic veterinary medicine expands, so do the medical options available for fish. One of these options is surgery.

As fish become more popular as pets, the demand for veterinarians to look after their health also increases. Whether you’ve got a guppie or a koi, any fish owner who develops a strong bond with their fish wants access to the best health care they can find. As the field of aquatic veterinary medicine expands, so do the medical options available for sick or injured fish. One of these options, explains Dr. Craig Adams, a mixed-animal veterinarian and owner of Aquatic Veterinary Services in western Washington, is surgery.

Listen to the podcast, or download as an MP3.

I hope to see you there.

Words From A Wet Vet, along with Sea Grant’s other blogs and podcasts, has made the virtual move across campus to blogs.oregonstate.edu, the new WordPress blogging community for Oregon State University departments, faculty and students. You’ll still be able to find all our archived posts at the new location.

Please bookmark our new address: http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/wetvet

If you subscribe to the blog via FeedBurner, you won’t need to do a thing – the feed will automatically bring you updates from the new location, whether you subscribe via a feed reader or by e-mail.

For more information about Oregon Sea Grant’s growing number of marine science blogs and podcasts, visit our Web site. ]]> http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/wetvet/2009/05/06/weve-moved/feed/ 0 http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/wetvet/2009/02/20/aquatic-invasive-species-and-the-ornamental-fish-industry/ http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/wetvet/2009/02/20/aquatic-invasive-species-and-the-ornamental-fish-industry/#comments Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:52:28 +0000 millermt http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/blogs/wetvet/?p=19 Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) are a growing global concern. The ornamental fish industry is certainly coming under increased scrutiny as it is involved with the international movement of thousand of aquatic species.

In an effort to educate industry members Ornamental Fish International (OFI) has organized an Invasive Alien Species Conference at the 2009 Aquarama Trade Show in Singapore, May 30, 2009. 

OFI has also posted some articles from the OFI Journal that provide some industry perspective on this issue.

The ornamental industry is just one of many industries that will be impacted by this emerging issue which posses significant threats to ecosystem health, human health and economic health on a local, national and global scale.

Oregon Extension Sea Grant has been heavily involved in AIS outreach for a number of years primarily through Sam Chan our Aquatic Ecosystem Health Educator. If you would like to learn more about AIS, particularly in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, visit Sam Chan’s web site. Through his site you can also link to many other sources of information regarding this important topic.

• Most all of the fish I’ve seen are very healthy and vigorous. I was particularly impressed with the 1 year-olds (tosai). WOW!!, No I don’t have a good eye but from a health standpoint they looked great.
• Those that appeared “off” were not for sale.
• Most common diseases appear to be Anchor worm and Columnaris. The columaris is generally a problem when the fish come out of the ponds and move into the greenhouses.
• Sleeping disease is also a problem. This  disease, which is not well characterized, causes problems primarily with 1-2 year old koi in the Winter months.  The fish tend to lie unmoving on the bottom of the pond. They will swim when stimulated.
• Costia can also be a problem at times.
• The government requires testing for Spring Viremia of Carp and Koi Herpes Virus four times a year.
• Biosecurity concepts are understood and practiced to varying degrees as we see in the US. Most breeders have moved to locked facilities, appear to have separate sets of equipment for each facility and all we visited have foot baths at the entrances (however, actual use seems to vary). few places also have hand wash stations.
• A couple facilities have quarantine greenhouses into which recently harvested fish are moved for observation and to await testing. 
• All breeders seem to be very concerned  and try to be conscientious about biosecurity. The level of practice is often related to the actual amount of fish trade (economics). More trade in koi results in more funds that can be invested in biosecurity. Fish  or ponds that are ill or appear off are generally isolated, pulled from sale, or moved from the holding areas until resolved.
• As we see in the US biosecurity requires constant diligence by everyone in each facility and throughout. Everyone must: Think Biosecurity, Plan Biosecurity and Act Biosecurely, 
• I’ll post some photos of a selection of facilities and some more information/thoughts in the near future. This was just a few quick notes. All-in-all this has been a great learning opportunity for me and I really appreciate all the patience from the breeders with all of my questions. I have seen some beautiful fish!!!