Fish doctors make a splash

From; COLUMBIA NEWS SERVICE
01/20/2007

By Christy Nicholson

NEW YORK — Dr. Gregory Lewbart found his latest patient to be a puzzling case. He arrived in Lewbart's office with a swollen eye and bloated stomach. Lewbart took X-rays, but saw nothing unusual. To be thorough, he decided to do an ultrasound.

Lewbart put the patient in a clear plastic bag with some water and held the ultrasound wand up to the bag.

Lewbart's patient was little more than the size of two nickels and had flowing red fins. It was a Siamese fighting fish named Rusty. Advertisement

The vast majority of fish treated by veterinarians used to be the fancy tropical varieties, but vets are now treating the $1 goldfish brought home from a child's birthday party or won at the county fair. When a pet fish gets sick, concerned pet owners are discovering that top-notch help is available.

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Comment:
I have been treating my customers sick fish for over 27+ years in LA, admittedly I did not have some of this advanced equipment, but I follow good aquatic husbandry procedures and stayed up withe the latest treatments.

Here is a snip about proper treatment procedures;
When you have fish that are sick (bacterial, fungal, protozoan, or other parasites), you want to try and isolate them in a hospital aquarium whenever possible. Regular water changes before each treatment allow for a more effective treatment, especially when treated in the display aquarium.
Sponge Filters work well in hospital aquariums. Remember to remove carbon, as carbon will remove many medications. Also note that silicone in the aquarium will absorb malachite green, methylene blue, and copper sulfate. Most corals (crushed and otherwise), and ceramic decorations will also absorb medications such as malachite green, methylene blue, and copper sulfate.
Proper calcium levels are important, as calcium also helps in healing and stress, and without proper calcium levels healing may be difficult or impossible. The addition of antibiotics (such as Tetracycline) will lower calcium absorption.
AQUARIUM MEDICATIONS, treatments, how they work, and which ones to use and not to use.

More information about Aquarium Disease Prevention:

AQUARIUM DISEASE PREVENTION

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