So have you ever...

[Krystle]

My vet here on the northside treats fish, and since I was just in today with my ryukin Wonton getting some baytril for injections, I was curious how many of you have ever taken your fish to the vet as well. I remember when I first went looking for a vet that would look at fish or help a hobbyist out by giving you some of those hard to get meds like baytril, metronidazole, praziquantel etc - it was brutal! My crown pearlscale Ariel was Dr. Jackson's first fish patient back in the day, now she's regularly performing surgeries removing tumors etc. $57 is a small price to pay if a fish cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars to begin with...

I stopped in, got Wonton looked at, they did a scrape to check for abnormal cells, fungus starting at his wound, or any other nasties like parasites, and since that came back normal, she went ahead with the first injection, and showed me how to do it. I left with enough Baytril for the next 6 injections and syringes as well. Well worth the 57 dollar fee, which also included the medicine.

Anywho, just wondering if I'm the only nut here

[Vapor]

What types of disease are they able to treat? I imagine there are only a few that actually look at fish though. And yes it does make sense on a fish you may have spent hundreds of dollars for. I used to laugh at people who spent hundreds or thousands on thier dogs. Then I owned a dog who needed surgery and I didn't even hesitate. What are the meds for that you are using?

[syno321]

You are definitely not a nut. The extreme measures that you go to to care for your fish is something that all of us could learn from, including myself! Keep up the great example that you're setting for us!

[Krystle]

What types of disease are they able to treat? I imagine there are only a few that actually look at fish though. And yes it does make sense on a fish you may have spent hundreds of dollars for. I used to laugh at people who spent hundreds or thousands on thier dogs. Then I owned a dog who needed surgery and I didn't even hesitate. What are the meds for that you are using?

They can do lots of pretty amazing stuff nowadays, like operating to remove tumors, quartz implant coeleotomies (sp?) to upright fish with permanent Swimbladder dysfunctions, If you have large fish like koi that get attacked by cats or herons and live to tell about it, they can stitch the wounds closed, apply antibacterial ointments, and of course the antibiotic injections I was metioning earlier. The injections are great because there are certain diseases that need to be treated internally, and if you have a fish that refuses to eat med food because it is too ill, injections can save the day.

They also have the equipment readily available to take scrapes, stool samples, and gill biopsies from your fish, examine it, and thus identify exactly what is causing the problem. Without a good microscope, stain, and agood understanding of fish microscopy we as hobbyists are often limited to guessing at diagnoses and then treating wih either the wrong meds, or in a "shotgun" treatment with a couple different meds hoping that one does the trick.

check out this site http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/articl...y&intro=Surgery

http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/articl...20&%20Disorders

http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/articl...ons%20&%20Doses

At first glance, the idea of spending so much money on a sick pet is unsettling, be it a fish or a dog or a cat, but as you said, once one that you own and love falls ill and needs treatment, you don't think twice.

The meds I'm using now are for a really nasty case of septicemia on wonton's left pec fin, that blew out half of his fin. Poor guy's looking kinda bloody and upset He needs the meds internally, but won't eat medicated food, so hence the injections.

I think companion animal medicine, and especially fish medicine is very interesting. I wish there was more of a market for it here, I'd happily pursue it as a career choice.

You are definitely not a nut. The extreme measures that you go to to care for your fish is something that all of us could learn from, including myself! Keep up the great example that you're setting for us!

thanks Syno I guess it comes down to how much I love my fish, they've never been just ornaments to me, you know? when I bring something home to be my pet, I feel that I'm taking on every responsibility for it's welfare, even moreso in the case of fish because we control every aspect of their environment... I've never understood how people could have the whole "disposable fish" mentality where if it dies, you can just buy a new one... That's why on my tattoo, one of the latin phrases surrounding the fish is "life is treasured" lol

gawd I'm such a hippie lmao

[Vapor]

Thanks for the site links. Very interesting stuff. :thumbs:

[Toirtis]

I do my fish vet-work myself.....I have been doing so for years, actually, including minor surgeries....heck, my grandfather first started doing his own fish surgical work back in 1946. Here is a photo of my grandfather (taken for a newspaper article) doing surgery on a fish in his fishroom back in 1952:

[Tanker]

That fishroom is hot. I want to touch it.

And while I have yet to take a fish to the vet, I do have a limit to my vet visits as far as my other animals have gone... but I am a cruel, unreasonable, and heartless SOB with very little regard for the life or emotions of other living things :P

I'm pretty sure my personal contributions to several vets over the years have enabled their children to attend university, wreck cars I cannot even afford, and eat 'real' Kraft Dinner.

[DAlberta]

Back a few years I worked in a veterinary clinic. One of the first things I learned is vets often have a specialty. Some work on farm animals, dogs and cats, wildlife and of course fish (I must admit this is a first I am aware of)

We don't believe in "disposable fish". We do what we can to cure them and regrettably sometimes have to put them down.

Yes, we would probably bring fish to the vet (if we knew of one in town).

Dave :beer:

[k9outfit]

My vet doesn't specialize in fish (actually the other vets at the clinic ran & hid when I showed up with a fecal one day when my vet wasn't there), but he's a fish nut from waaaaayyyyy back. So, when I have some concerns, we just discuss symptoms & such, and decide on treatement. So far, this method has been 100% successful.