[RML] Set up

Denise Petty, DVM (TheRealDr_D at compuserve.com)
Fri, 13 Nov 1998 15:09:16 -0500

I have a fair amount of experience with several commercial operators, and I
find that they relate the horror stories but either they won't tell the
true story or they overlooked several vital pieces of information. Many do
not access professional help (veterinarians, diagnostic laboratories, etc.)
and try to "fix" things on their own. Some of their "fixes" are darn scary.

My place of employment is, actually was, a perfect example when I began
working there. People tend to point a finger at a factor, say a system,
that really has no relation to the actual problem.

We receive hundreds of bags of fishes a day, and it's a safe assumption
that most have ectoparasites. While quarantine is ideal and I highly
recommend it to everyone, in this situation it is impossible to do.

The only recurring ectoparasite problem I have is gyrodactylids, which
really may not be recurring as much as a new population of gyrodactylids
are arriving each week on fancy goldfish.

Fish arrive with bacterial infections but they very rarely spread. I have
yet to see a tank of fish with _Ichthyopthirius multifiliis_ result in Ich
throughout the system or even spread to a few tanks. I can't explain it,
though I'd like to think my treatment regime is that effective.

Several local fish farmers use high tech recirc systems and they produce
some of the nicest, healthiest fishes I've seen.

On the fenbendazole, I haven't had much time to try many dosages, but at
the lowest level, I didn't see improvement when I used it on fancy goldfish
infested with gyrodactylids. I want to try several dosages on known
infested fishes.

Denise