Tropical fish medicine. Copper treatments. Uses and precautions.

Copper is an old but effective treatment for fish diseases. It is now primarily used to treat acute infestations of parasites such as Amyloodinium and Cryptocaryon. Many fish are sensitive to copper and may become intoxicated at concentrations required to control pathogens. Copper concentrations in treatment tanks must be measured frequently to ensure that levels are therapeutic but not toxic. A knowledge of the solution chemistry of copper is essential in understanding how to avoid unexpected changes in copper concentrations. Factors such as pH, salinity, decorative materials, nature of the filter bed, and the type of therapeutic agent used for treatment must be considered.

Diazepam and succinylcholine chloride for restraint of the American alligator.

Diazepam followed by succinylcholine chloride was administered intramuscularly to 26 healthy mature female alligators on 2 occasions. The mean diazepam dosage was 0.37 mg/kg (range, 0.22 mg/kg to 0.62 mg/kg) and the mean succinylcholine chloride dosage was 0.24 mg/kg (range, 0.14 mg/kg to 0.37 mg/kg). This drug combination reduced stress and allowed adequate immobilization for restraint and handling. The reduced drug volume, low dosage of succinylcholine chloride required, short induction period, maintenance of respiration, and adequate degree of immobilization make this drug combination a good alternative to the use of muscle relaxants alone in chemical restraint of alligators.

Steatitis and fat necrosis in captive alligators.

Steatitis and fat necrosis were identified in a group of 123 American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) kept in an enclosed pond and fed a diet of only fish for more than 10 years. All affected animals were outwardly healthy and had had no signs of disease in the period immediately before slaughter. The diagnosis was made at the time of commercial slaughter for harvest of meat and hides. Lesions consisted of firm yellow-brown masses distributed in fat tissue throughout the body. The histopathologic diagnosis was granulomatous steatitis, with fat necrosis, based on the finding of multinucleated giant cells, ceroid, and multiple foci of inflammatory cells.

Mortality, hemodynamics, and aortic properties among male and female turkeys fed beta-aminopropionitrile.

Broad-Breasted White turkeys were randomized into four treatment groups at 4 weeks of age in each of three trials. Group 1, males, and Group 2, females, were fed an unsupplemented (control) diet from 4 to 10 weeks of age. Group 3, males, and Group 4, females, were fed the control diet supplemented with 0.07% beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN). The experiments were terminated at 10 weeks of age. There was no mortality among male and female turkeys fed the control diet or significant differences in blood pressure, heart rate, aortic tensile strength, or aortic hydroxyproline between these males and females. Sixty-five percent of the males and 21% of the females fed BAPN died of dissecting aneurysms; blood pressure, heart rate, and dp/dt max were not altered as a result of feeding BAPN. Aortic tensile strength was higher in control turkeys than those fed BAPN, but males fed BAPN had the lowest value. Males fed BAPN also had the lowest aortic hydroxyproline content. Ultrastructural alterations of aortic elastic and collagen fibers were more severe in males than females fed BAPN. Aortic changes did not occur in control turkeys.

Cataracts in cichlid fish.

Bilateral cataracts were detected in a group of aquarium-raised tilapia (Sarotherodon mossambicus). Vision impairment was manifested as random swimming into objects, but the fish appeared to function normally otherwise. Most of the lens was opaque, with the outer extent of the cortex and subcapsular region remaining transparent. Skeletal abnormalities, ie, deformed fins, abnormal jaws, and curvature of the spine, were observed in affected individuals. Histologically, there was progressive degeneration of the cataractous portion as the affected fish matured. Preliminary breeding experiments indicated that the condition may be inherited.

Acute copper poisoning of cultured marine teleosts.

Copper was accidentally introduced into seawater entering a circular outdoor tank used to culture 610 pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) and other marine teleosts. Fish were exposed for 23 hours to copper concentrations between 0.2 parts per million (ppm) and 7.2 ppm with an average concentration of 3.3 ppm. The pinfish were lethergic by 6 hours after copper was introduced into the tank. Deaths began within 10 hours with a total of 575 (94%) deaths. Deaths stopped 11 hours after copper concentrations decreased below 0.2 ppm and signs of distress stopped in surviving pinfish by approximately 6 hours after the last death. Serum urea nitrogen, alkaline phosphatase, sodium (Na+), and potassium (K+) concentrations were increased and represent those constitutents which differ from mean control values by more than 2 standard deviations. Electrolyte imbalance, apparently resulting from impaired osmoregulation and hemolysis, was a serious terminal condition in copper-poisoned pinfish.

Excretion of carbon-14-labeled aflatoxin B1 via bile, urine, and intestinal contents of the chicken.

Carbon-14-labeled aflatoxin B1 was prepared by growing Aspergillus parasiticus in medium containing sucrose-14-C as the sole carbon source. The 14-C-labeled aflatoxin B1 was extracted with chloroform and purified by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) followed by precipitation from solution and washing. The 14-C-labeled aflatoxin B1 was intravenously given to anesthetized dwarf White Leghorn or Rhode Island Red hens with cannulated ureters and bile ducts. The 14-C had a calculated plasma half-life of 1.5 minutes and rapidly appeared in the bile. The 14-C concentration in the bile reached values approximately 7 times maximum for plasma, and most could no longer be extracted with chloroform. This finding indicated that metabolites of the 14-C-labeled aflatoxin B1 had been excreted against a concentration gradient into the bile. The quantities of 14-C excreted via bile, urine, and intestinal contents remained at a fairly constant ratio of 70:15:15, respectively, over the 315-minute experimental period. Six major chloroform-soluble compounds containing 14-C were isolated. Three of these were tentatively identified as aflatoxin B1, B2, and M1. A 4th was believed to be aflatoxin B2a. None of the early chloroform-soluble metabolites were as cytotoxic as aflatoxin B1.