Dentistry and Your Fish - A Must Read!

[tebstan]

Missing how? Like in one of the pics above? Thanks for sharing your experience w/ clove oil. I had to stress that it could be fatal since there will be someone to go overboard even with a disclaimer : P But it is certainly a good option for medical treatment. Seahorses keepers use it for tube feeding sick, malnourished ponies.

A whole top tooth is missing. I find myself talking at him with a lisp...


Richard Hess has a great detailed explanation in his book on fancy goldfish, but since it's copyrighted and I'm lazy here's a quick summation of his technique.

1. Have 3 vessels of water.

a. First vessel will have 5 drops of oil of cloves per gallon.
b. Second vessel will have 2.5 drops of oil of cloves per gallon.
c. Third vessel will contain no oil of cloves.

2. Emulsify the oil of cloves before adding it to the vessels. (Add a little water and shake it up.) This ensures it is evenly distributed.

3. Place the fish in the first vessel until it stops flopping about but is still breathing regularly.

a. Do not wait until all motion has stopped! Or until breathing has stopped. This will cause euthanasia.
b. Depending on temperature and size of the fish, it can take from 5 to 15 minutes.

4. Place the fish in the third vessel of clean water for a few minutes to prevent euthanasia.

5. Place the fish in the second (half dose) vessel until the procedure is complete.

6. Do not get so distracted by the procedure that you forget to monitor the fish.

a. If the fish begins to move around a lot, place it in the first (full strength) vessel for a minute, then back to the second (half dose) vessel.
b. If the fish slows it's breathing further, place it in the third (clean) vessel for a minute, then back to the second (half dose) vessel.

7. When the procedure is complete, put the fish in a clean quarantine tank by itself for recovery. "Walk" the fish around by hand until it regains some motion on it's own. It can take over 15 minutes to revive from oil of cloves anesthetic.

8. If you are not comfortable with this procedure, don't do it. Accidental euthanasia is possible.