Fish health consultation visits
Keeping our fish healthy is a fundamental part of fish keeping and sometimes, regardless of how well we look after them, they get sick.
We offer fish health consultation visits to diagnose and treat your sick fish.
Contact us today to make an appointment.
We offer fish health consultation visits to diagnose and treat your sick fish.
Contact us today to make an appointment.
Sam Gibbs is our resident fish health and welfare specialist with over 20 years experience. Here's a little bit about him ...
"A passion for angling and an obsession with fish led me to pursue a career in the fish industry. After leaving school I went to Sparsholt College in Hampshire to study Aquaculture. My studies covered a broad range of sectors within the industry, such as fish science, aquatic ecology, fish farming, water quality, sport fishery management, fish health and welfare and aquatic ecosystems. I worked on various fish farms and sport fisheries before moving into the aquatic sector and working with Koi carp.
In 2005 I moved to the Netherlands for 17 years, where I set up my own business as a fish health and welfare consultant. I offered advice, diagnosis, and treatment to sport fisheries, fish farms, aquatic retailers, and private customers. Most of this work involved diagnosing and treating sick Koi carp. Over the years I have wrote articles for various magazines, contributed towards published books and given workshops and seminars in several countries.
I like to think outside the box when it comes to fish health. For example, I don’t like to immediately jump to antibiotic treatments when I can help encourage the fish to trigger a good immune response and heal itself. I don’t mind tackling complicated procedures, such as tumour removal or fixing broken fins and jaws – the latter sometimes requires a bit of innovative treatment, but the results have been achieved with full recoveries documented.
As well as treating the problem I like to investigate the root cause. Taking it one step further by helping the customer understand what’s going on and working towards preventing it in the future."
In 2005 I moved to the Netherlands for 17 years, where I set up my own business as a fish health and welfare consultant. I offered advice, diagnosis, and treatment to sport fisheries, fish farms, aquatic retailers, and private customers. Most of this work involved diagnosing and treating sick Koi carp. Over the years I have wrote articles for various magazines, contributed towards published books and given workshops and seminars in several countries.
I like to think outside the box when it comes to fish health. For example, I don’t like to immediately jump to antibiotic treatments when I can help encourage the fish to trigger a good immune response and heal itself. I don’t mind tackling complicated procedures, such as tumour removal or fixing broken fins and jaws – the latter sometimes requires a bit of innovative treatment, but the results have been achieved with full recoveries documented.
As well as treating the problem I like to investigate the root cause. Taking it one step further by helping the customer understand what’s going on and working towards preventing it in the future."
Monitor your fish
It's recommended to monitor your fish on a routine basis and look for the following symptoms:
Isolation from the rest of the group.
Clamped fins against the body.
Scraping/flashing against hard objects or the pond walls/floor.
Erratic swimming patterns.
Excessive jumping.
Excess mucus that dulls colour and gives a cloudy appearance.
Continuously holding open the mouth and blowing to clear the gills.
Open wounds/sores or redness.
Loss of appetite.
Letheragic behaviour, hanging in the water.
Clamped fins against the body.
Scraping/flashing against hard objects or the pond walls/floor.
Erratic swimming patterns.
Excessive jumping.
Excess mucus that dulls colour and gives a cloudy appearance.
Continuously holding open the mouth and blowing to clear the gills.
Open wounds/sores or redness.
Loss of appetite.
Letheragic behaviour, hanging in the water.
If you notice any of these signs, it is worth investing it further to see if you can find the cause and help where necessary.
Diagnosis & Treatment
Diagnosis can throw up varying causes. Water quality, parasitic, bacterial, viral and isolated conditions such as tumours or organ failure, etc. We offer visual and physical examinations; complete water analysis, skin scrapes and microscopic investigation, physical examinations and bacterial swabs for cultivating and sensitivity testing. For fish that require antibiotics we can organise that with veterinarians. In case of bacterial infections, we can treat the wound topically. Deep cleaning the infected areas and sealing accordingly.