Aquatic Invasive Species, Continuing education, Views of the industry

Aquatic Invasive Species and the Ornamental Fish Industry

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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.

animal husbandry, bacterial diseases, biosecurity, parasitic diseases, quarantine, Travel, Views of the industry

Observations: The world of Koi in Japan – Koi Breeders, Niigata and Hiroshima

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We’ve been able to visit about 10 breeders in Japan,  8 breeders in Niigata and one in Hiroshima. Here are a few of my quick impressions/observations so far based upon the visits to these few facilities:

  • 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!!!
biosecurity, Industry Profiles, Travel, Views of the industry

Observations: The world of Koi in Japan – ZNA All Japan Show

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ZNA showI’ve travelled to Japan to spend a week visiting a number of koi breeders around Niigata and Hiroshima and to attend the ZNA All Japan Nishikigoi (Koi) show. I was invited by Tony Prew and Arthur Hixon of Oregon Koi Gardens to travel with them on one of their annual buying trips. My travel was very generously sponsored by Gil and Jan Gilman of Peaceful Ponds.

I arrived in Narita international airport last night on a flight from Hawaii (more about that part of the trip later) and met Tony. We then caught a train into Tokyo. From there we traveled on the Shinkasen (the Bullet Train) to Nagaoka. Then a one of Tony Prew’s friends, a local breeder, Mr. Hoshino met us and drove us to our hotel in Ojyia City. After a good night’s sleep and some breakfast we were off to the Koi Show.

This show is the ZNA All Japan Koi Show. It is in its 44th year and is the premier show for hobbyists in Japan.

One feature that I found interesting was their solution to the Japanese style vs the English style koi show. For those of you that are not familiar with these terms in a Japanese style show all the fish in the same size class and variety are generally placed in the same tank for judging. This method presents some serious risks to the fish in terms of potential disease transmission in that you are mixing fish from different sources with potentially unknown health histories. The solution to this problem was the English style koi show in which all fish from the same owner are placed together in one tank regardless of size and variety. This presents a problem for the Judges as they cannot compare all of the fish of the same class side-by-side. They must circulate between all of the tanks. However, the risk of disease transmission is significantly reduced provided people keep their hands out of the water and all equipment is adequately disinfected between tanks and measures are taken to reduce the risk of splash between tanks.

The the solution the Japanese have now developed is to hold the fish in bags for judging where they are grouped by size and variety. Once they are judged the bags surfaces are disinfected and the fish are transferred to tanks allocated to each owner in the English style fashion. These plastic bags apparently have an improved optical quality that allows the judges to adequately assess the fish. Further, the fish that I observed appeared to be quite calm and in general I did not see many fish with overt signs of stress. An interesting solution. I will be curious to see how this method pans out over the next few years.

More photos (click for larger view):

1-ZNA show
ZNA show

2- ZNA Show
ZNA show

3-ZNA
Show fish in bags for judging

4- ZNA show
Kohaku in bag

5-ZNA
Show fish in bags for judging

6-ZNA show
Grand champion

7- ZNA show GC
Grand champion

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Fish as Pets podcast: An interview with Dr. Helen Roberts, DVM

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More veterinarians than ever before are treating not just valuable koi, but also goldfish won at county fairs and many tropical fish species.

Dr. Helen Roberts, a practicing veterinarian in Orchard Park, N.Y., and vice chair of the AVMA’s Aquatic Veterinarian Medical Committee, talks about aquatic veterinary medicine and the increasing number of veterinarians involved in the care of pet fish.

Listen to the MP3 podcast

Continuing education, educational opportunities, fish health management

Some upcoming educational opportunities in ornamental fish health

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I wanted to make you all aware of two upcoming continuing education opportunities, the Aquatic Ecology and Koi Health Academy and the Aquatic section of the American Veterinary Medical Association Annual meeting.

This will be the third year that Oregon Sea Grant Extension and the College of Veterinary Medicine has partnered with Rail City Garden Center to coordinate the speakers, seminar and wet lab for the Aquatic Ecology and Koi Health Academy. The program has been well received by past participants. Here is some more information from the press release:

In an effort to preserve the knowledge and awareness of Koi health and water ecology, Rail City Garden Center is pleased to announce the 3rd Annual “Greater Nevada Aquatic Ecology & Koi Health Academy.”

A one of a kind event in North America, we have in place an event scheduled for February 28th and March 1st, 2009. This event will be held at the University of Nevada, College of Agriculture building, located in beautiful downtown Reno Nevada. Two tracks available: Pond Professional and Veterinarian track.

Some of the featured speakers include: Dr. Tim Miller-Morgan, DVM – Oregon State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon Sea Grant Extension; Dr. Scott Weber, VMD, MS – University of California, College of Veterinary Medicine; Dr. Richard Strange, PhD – University of Tennessee, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife; Dr. Allen Riggs, DVM – Hawaii Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture Development Program and Dr. David S. Thain, DVM – University of Nevada, State Extension Veterinarian.

Rail City Garden Center is looking forward to seeing you at the 2009 event. Please call

(775) 355-1551, visit our website at www.railcitygarden.net, or email us directly at justin@railcitygarden.net.

Downloadable .pdfs:

Please feel free to pass these along to anyone you feel might be interested in the program.

Also, for the veterinarians, keep July, 18-22, 2009 open. This is the AVMA annual meeting which will be in Seattle. We will be offering 4 days of aquatic medicine training with a focus on pet fish. Additionally we will be offering a seminar and wet lab on shellfish medicine. I will make more detailed information available in the near future.

animal husbandry, fish health management

Some rules of thumb for keeping healthy fish and invertebrates

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Let’s start with something I hope you will find fun.

About 15 years ago I attended a program called AQUAVET at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. This was an intensive program in Aquatic Animal Medicine. Dr. Bob Bullis, one of the instructors and the MBL veterinarian at the time, gave a lecture entitled Principles of Health Management For Marine Laboratory Animals. From his lecture and notes came some some important considerations for keeping healthy fish an invertebrates. This gave me the idea to develop some “rules of thumb” for the aquarist or budding aquatic veterinarian. Often it is these little tips and pearls of wisdom that aren’t covered in the books or formal classes. Over the years through my own and others experiences (good and bad) I have modified these into some general rules of thumb for the freshwater and marine aquarium keeping. This is certainly not the final word on this matter, I’m constantly tinkering with the list and, as always, open to suggestions. Without further ado here in slightly modified and expanded form are the sage words of Dr. Bob Bullis, MS, DVM.

Now comes the interactive portion. I imagine you have also have developed your own rules of thumb for keeping your animals healthy. Send them to me or post them in the comments section and include your name and state or country. If I add them to the list you will get full credit. TMM

THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS

  • Water quality is almost always the central or contributing factor in disease outbreaks.
  • Bacterial and parasitic diseases account for the vast majority of ornamental fish disease problems.
  • Prevention is ALWAYS cheaper than treatment.

WARNING SIGNS OF IMPENDING DOOM

  • Excessive accumulation of debris, uneaten food, feces, and other muck in the aquarium or pond.
  • Sudden changes in water quality parameters (ammonia, nitrite, pH, turbidity, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, cloudy water, unusual amount of foam in system, etc.)
  • A dead animal or an unusual amount of deaths among animals that traditionally do very well in aquariums or pond environments.
  • Distressed animals in the system. This is usually indicated by unusual amounts of activity, inactivity, or unusual behavior. More on specific signs in fish and invertebrates in the next issue.
  • It’s 4:30 on a Friday afternoon and you are planning on going away for the weekend.

COMMON ERRORS, MISTAKES AND MISCONCEPTIONS

  • Failure to know your animal (its biology and husbandry requirements).
  • Failure to quarantine new animals.
  • Failure to allow your aquarium or pond to cycle before adding all your fish an/or invertebrates.
  • Overcrowding the system. This will tax the oxygen supply and the filtration systems, increase traumatic injury, territorialism, and cannibalism.
  • Overfeeding
  • Failure to adequately rinse recently cleaned and disinfected tanks, totes and equipment.
  • Failure to quarantine newly arrived animals or to isolate those undergoing treatment.
  • Initiating a disease treatment without a proper diagnosis.
  • Failure to rinse the dust from activated carbon, dolomite or crushed shell before adding it to filters.
  • Failure to provide large aquariums with well supported stands.
  • Failure to build in bypass and overflow pipes and screened drains.
  • Use of copper, brass, or bronze valves and/or pipes. These can corrode, slough or leach toxic copper salts. Copper is especially toxic to invertebrates. Zinc is also quite toxic.
  • Failure to provide proper substrates, shelter, or life support for commensal invertebrates.
  • Failure to provide proper water flow and current for sessile invertebrates.
  • Using plastics or sealers impregnated with insecticides or fungicides. Always read the label and when in doubt use food grade containers.
  • Using toxins or solvents in or around aquariums and ponds (insecticides, herbicides, floor strippers, cleaners, even smoke)
  • Failure to keep certain species separate (predators with prey species, aggressive species with timid species, introducing parasites with host species).
  • Failure to identify the individuals responsible for care and maintenance of the animals and systems. Miscommunication can leave important husbandry tasks undone.
  • Failure to check the water quality parameters regularly.
  • Failure to observe and respond to declining water quality conditions.
  • Inadequate nutrition do to underfeeding or an unbalanced or inappropriate diet. varied diet is always best. Monodiets are never balanced.
  • Failure to keep adequate husbandry records (water quality, feeding, mortalities, disease, and other significant events) and failure to review those records on a regular basis.
  • Failure to recognize or anticipate the onset or duration of reproductive activity. Misinterpreting reproductive activity as abnormal behavior.
  • Improperly installed/maintained electrical equipment and outlets not protected by ground fault interruption.
  • Failure to check pipes, fittings and equipment on the suction side of pumps for air leaks. Air supersaturated water can kill animals quickly.
  • Believing that antibiotics will solve all your problems.
Welcome

Welcome to Words from a Wet Vet

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The Ornamental Fish Industry is global and extremely diverse. Participants in this industry include:

  • collectors
  • breeders/farmers
  • exporters
  • importers
  • transhippers
  • wholesalers
  • retailers
  • aquarium and pond maintenance professionals
  • and, of course, the end users — ornamental fish hobbyists.

The number of fish and invertebrate species collected and cultured for this industry exceeds 3000 species, with the ornamental trade touching every continent except Antarctica.

While the diversity and scope is tremendous, there is one common factor: the importance of quality animal health management. Increased knowledge of health management principles can have dramatic impacts on the industry. These include:

  • reduced pressure on ecosystems
  • reduced stress and disease among our aquatic charges
  • increased profits
  • and an increased understanding of the animal needs and husbandry requirements throughout each aspect of this large industry.

This blog is my attempt to shed some light on what I consider to be important issues of aquatic animal health management within the industry, discuss ways we all may be able to work together to address these emerging issues, and inform readers about upcoming events and educational opportunities in order to increase our awareness and proficiency as it relates to aquatic animal health management.

News for ornamental fish enthusiasts