Posts made in June 2016

How to Properly Move Pet Fish

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So your fish keeping friend is moving and has offered to give you all their fish, lucky you! But how to properly get those beautiful new finds safely from their pond or tank to yours. Even if this is not exactly the case, there may come a time when you need to move fish, such as because they are newly purchased, going to a show, or are going for a visit to the vets office. Therefore it is good to do a review of proper fish handling and transport.

First of all, fish that have been in a pond or tank for many years are often not kept in the most optimal conditions. They have often long outgrown the appropriate size for their environment. Overcrowding equates to poor water quality and a depressed immune system. Although they may appear perfectly healthy now due to the fish’s incredible ability to acclimate to most any gradual changes, the stress of moving is often all that it takes to push the fish over the edge and allow them to suffer from all manner of illnesses and parasites. Even fish that are transferred from presumptively “disease free” sources can potentially be carriers of disease. Some conditions can be difficult to detect in carrier fish, and some pathogens may go undetected if they have not produced clinical signs in any of the fish. Do not believe it when the store says the fish have already been quarantined!

To minimize spreading of these potential diseases to your pond; first, acquire the services of a knowledgeable fish veterinarian. If possible have the fish’s health and environment evaluated before the move. This can be scheduled while the isolation or quarantine tank(s) are establishing since of course, you do NOT want to move the new fish directly into your pond on the first day. During those times when it is not possible to have the fish evaluated BEFORE the move, then plan to have them examined within the first week or two in your quarantine facility to minimize the potential spread of pathogens into your pond.

Ideally, fish should be fasted for about three days before being moved. Some report fasting for up to a week, but this tends to add to the stress of the fish and is not recommended. Fasting the fish will help minimize waste during transport which will maintain water quality, which becomes more significant with the farther distance traveled. Caution must be used to minimize stressing the fish during capture and restraint. Latex or similar gloves should be worn when handling the fish to protect their delicate skin and to protect you from potential pathogens. No jewelry should be worn. Fish should be gently guided head first into catch bowls in the water; fish should NOT be lifted out of the water with nets if at all possible. Any nets used should be of the type which will minimize damage to the sensitive skin of the fish. Nets are primarily used just to guide the movement of the fish. The fish should be lifted out of the water in either a catch bowl or a fish sock (fine mesh bag), which is then picked up on both ends and from there the fish is moved into what it will travel in.

The safest way to transport fish is in a plastic bag with just enough water to cover the fish, and the rest of the bag filled up with pure oxygen. Fish of any considerable size should be placed in two bags as their dorsal fins, as well as hooks near the anal fins, have been known to cut plastic bags. The plastic bag(s) should then be placed in cardboard boxes and padded with newspaper to minimize their rolling around. For trips of less than 30 minutes fish can be transported in buckets, plastic-lined regular or Styrofoam coolers with about 1 liter of water for every centimeter of fish if supplemental oxygen is not provided. Any container fish are transported in must be covered to protect the fish from injury by jumping out. Noniodized salt can be added to the water, but must be carefully measured to equal one teaspoonful per gallon. Do NOT add salt if going for a visit to the vet, as this might make it more problematic to locate parasites on the fish when they get examined.

Once at the new locale, plastic bags should be floated in the quarantine tank for around 30 minutes to acclimate to the new water temperature before the fish are released. If fish are being moved into a freshwater quarantine tank, it should have a separate fully cycled filter sponge or another type of nitrification system, and consider adding non-iodized or sea salt added, to a level of 0.3%. Salt reduces the osmoregulatory effort of the fish, which is how much nutrition it needs to breathe and digest food. This level of salinity should be maintained throughout the quarantine period of at least two but preferably 4-6 weeks. While in quarantine the water should be checked daily to ensure ammonia (should be 0), nitrate, nitrate, and Ph levels. Use partial water changes to maintain good water quality, and be prepared for a Ph crash.

Other treatments that can be done during the quarantine period are to feed the fish medicated food. It is important to ensure the new fish are eating well, tempt them to eat with food and treats specific for their species. Random treatment with antiparasitic agents is NOT recommended unless the tests performed by your veterinarian confirm and warrant such treatment. Monitor all the fish every day to ensure they are eating and swimming well without scale/skin lesions or frayed fins. Use separate nets and equipment for the quarantined fish to prevent cross contamination, and at the end of the quarantine period thoroughly disinfect all such equipment with diluted chlorhexidine or other net safe solution.

At the end of the quarantine period, release the new fish in the pond or tank to join the current residents, and enjoy the freedom of knowing you have done everything possible to ensure the best possible outcome for your new additions!

If the fish are not going into quarantine, but just being transported to visit the vets office, be sure to bring with you another container with the water the fish is acclimated to, so that there is fresh water for the fish to travel back home in. For smaller fish, I usually recommend transporting the fish in a plastic bag, and then having at least the same amount of water in another plastic bag just in case of bag breaks, a bucket spills, or whatever the case may be. You can never be too careful about when transporting fish. I also prefer them to come to my office in a cooler, as this minimizes temperature fluctuates no matter what the weather outside, which helps keep stress to a minimum.

In summary, with a little preparation, it is easy to safely transport your pet fish for whatever purposes you might need. I am here for you to do housecalls in and around Denver, Colorado for your fresh, salt, and pond water fish. You can even book me on line here http://www.drkoi.com. Best wishes for you and your fishes!

Why Dog’s Bloat & How To Minimize the Risk

Harambe: What Can We Learn?

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Animal lovers in the virtual world of the internet have been abuzz this week furiously discussing Harambe the 17 year old endangered lowland gorilla that was shot and killed this week in the Cincinnati zoo when a little boy entered his enclosure. One thing they all have in common, is a sadness and sense of frustration at what seems like a senseless loss of a magnificent animal. Normal human nature at times like this is to try to place the blame. Some say it’s with the mother, saying she was negligent to not monitor her child and allow him to enter the animal’s enclosure, and she should face criminal charges in the death of the animal. Others blame zoo’s, and demand they all be shut down and we release animals from their prison’s in the first place. Those somewhere in the middle struggle with understand why the animal was not just tranquilized? We understand now that it would have taken too long to dart and tranquilize the gorilla, but isn’t there something else they could have done other than kill this precious animal?

As an animal professional, the first thing I would like to point out, is that of the hundreds of people weighing in with their passionate comments, very few if any have worked with animal’s in zoo’s or spent any time behind the scenes. Few of them have experience with the nature and behaviors of lowland gorillas. Harsh assumptions are made, emotionally charged petitions are started, however, how many of those people signing and speaking out are actually qualified in some way to carefully evaluate all sides of the situation, and then make an educated decision? Based on the comments I have seen, I would say very few.

People are often confused about why the animal was not tranquilized, instead of shot and killed. They villainize the dangerous animal control team (although they probably did not even know that existed before this week), and zoo officials for making this difficult decision. However they have no basis, background, knowledge, or expertise, to allow them the privilege of getting to weigh in on such a difficult situation.

In reality, it was the best time possible for such an episode to occur. We should be grateful to Cincinnati zoo officials for having a dangerous animal control team in the first place. We should be grateful they were prepared to make quick decision. We should be grateful they had just had a practice drill the week before. Image how much more tragic the situation might have been without competent professionals, who care so much for their job, the animals, and who treat their responsibilities with such profound respect, that they were prepared for addressing just such an emergency, in advance!

I can assure you people who work in zoo’s are not just sitting around waiting for the moment to shoot and kill the animals. They are often criticized, hard working animal lovers who are well trained, love what they do, and the animal’s they care for. They are working a thankless job, long hours, for often meager pay, just for the opportunity and privilege to live their dream, and work daily to carefully care for some of the most magnificent animal’s on the planet.

For the people who think we should shut down all zoo’s, I simply ask the very real questions, 1) where would all the animals in captivity now, go, and who would pay for it all, and 2) what then shall we do with all the animal’s in captivity who are not capable of caring for themselves in the wild, and who will pay for them? It is obvious there are no easy answers.

Instead of rising up against the zoo’s, how about we start petitions to raise money to fund research into fast acting tranquilizers? Because this could be the best, most realistic answer to this entire situation for the future.

Charging the child’s mother with criminally does nothing to prevent this fate for other animals. Closing down zoo’s is not realistic, or even best for society and animal’s in the long run. The answers usually lay in that middle ground. We have to sometimes look outside the box for answers. We should ask zoo officials, the most qualified people to comment on the situation, what would have helped them to have been able to avoid this tragedy. Perhaps the answer is a new medication, procedure, or equipment, so that animal’s can be quickly, safely, and instantly immobilized, so they don’t have to lose their lives, and zoo professional’s don’t have to lose living their dream, which will help save the future for all us animal’s together, on this small, fragile planet.

On that note, I am DrQ, here to help you, better understand the world of animal’s and people. Thank you for reading!

Free Positive Pet Advice on Facebook!

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Do you ever notice how pets seem to start acting strangely, or come up with new unwanted behaviors, right after most business office hours? How many times has that happened to you? Many times that is when we make a quick visit to Google to see what the world has to say about what might be happening with your pet. The GREAT news is, we do have the internet! Although people often make negative remarks about it, with a little common sense and due diligence, it’s not usually too difficult to figure out what makes good sense, versus that which is a bunch of malarkey, or just people trying to sound bigger and more important than they are. (Aren’t you glad you don’t walk in that guy’s shoes).

Just as most veterinarians, I can’t always answer every message on Facebook or text at certain times such as, the middle of a surgery, or during a behavior consultation. This leaves people looking for answers needing to contact an emergency hospital, or surf the internet and hope to find good information. For real medical emergencies it is still best to get to the nearest after hours emergency vet right away. However for good, quick answers to behavior, training, and basic health care questions, a really great group on Facebook, one that I have come to know and love, is called Positive Pet Advice.

Positive Pet Advice was created October 12, 2014, by Louis Walton, a dog professional who was tired of the same old dog training groups where people spent as much time talking about their credentials, than they did actually trying to use their experience and knowledge to help others looking for answers. Young people today don’t go to the library anymore to research the answers, they go on the internet and hope to find the same information. This is mostly a blessing, since now we have more good information available faster than ever before. However, as with all things, sometimes you get what you pay for, and free advice must always be taken with a dose of caution.

However, armed with that knowledge, pet groups on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites do often have some knowledgeable people participating when they can, so when the work is split up among a group, you often can get nearly 24 hour 7 day a week free advice which more often than not is likely to be of some use to you, and fairly accurate. Getting that advice from a group such as Positive Pet Advice is even better, since most of the time the comments are very helpful, and monitored fairly closely by the administrators of the site to ensure it sounds reasonable, and just as importantly, polite. Thus the name POSITIVE Pet Advice. Some groups on the internet criticize others for asking questions some might feel is treating an animal ‘wrong’ or ‘bad”. In this group that sort of criticism is not allowed, however, discussions are encouraged which center around certain standards of care, and training methods, as a means to educate and enlighten those interested and willing.

Speaking of the admin, or administrators of the site, they are lovely group of dog trainers and animal behaviorists, some even having experience with zoo animals, and highly recognized speakers in their fields. Not to mention they are all a selfless bunch of people who donate hours of their time every single day, week after week, to make sure the group runs smoothly, provides members with helpful pet information, and without a single thought of compensation, only because they know it is the right to do. Now often do you find that in the world anymore?

So, if you find yourself searching on line for some sort of health, behavior, or training advice, and it is NOT a medical emergency, then I encourage you to ask to join the closed group Positive Pet Advice on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/767055476662599/. I have been working remotely with this group for over a year, and it is one of the most rewarding part of my work week. It is so encouraging to work hand in hand with such a talented group of animals experts in their respective fields, who give so freely of themselves, really just for the sake of helping the animals and their people. They do great live videos, give gifts to members, and other fun things, too!

Just to be clear, for any medical emergency or serious health concerns, please contact your nearest veterinarian as soon as possible. If you are just wondering about a product, a practice, or fun ways to make new toys or games for your animals, then Positive Pet Advice is a safe, welcome place, I recommend and support, to all my clients and friends.

On that note, I am DrQ, here to help you, and your animals live happier and healthier, longer. If you are on Facebook, like Dr. Q and join Positive Pet Advice! Thanks for reading!