Andrew E. Goodwin, Ph.D.
UAPB Aquaculture/Fisheries Center
Diagnostic Lab Locations
Fish get sick and die from a variety of causes
including bacteria, viruses, parasites, environmental and man-made toxins,
and poor water quality. Diagnosis and treatment of many fish health problems
requires sophisticated equipment and specialized training. In Arkansas,
fish diagnostic services for fish farms and private ponds are provided
by the Fish Diseases Diagnostic Laboratories of the University of Arkansas
at Pine Bluff. In order for a fish disease problem to be diagnosed, sick
fish must be collected and submitted to the disease diagnostic laboratory.
The proper collection and handling of the sample is critical for an accurate
diagnosis. This fact sheet describes what services are available, how to
collect and ship fish samples, and provides addresses and phone numbers
for contacting the appropriate diagnostic laboratory.
Services Available
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Extension Program has four
Fish Disease Diagnostic Laboratories that specialize in the investigation
of fish kills in private ponds and on commercial fish farms. The Diagnostic
Laboratories are equipped to diagnose fish diseases, analyze water quality
problems, and make treatment recommendations and should be consulted whenever
fish health problems are suspected. The Diagnostic laboratories also provide
inspections or fish for interstate transport and international export.
The UAPB Diagnostic Laboratories are the only providers of fish disease
diagnostic services in Arkansas and the lab at UAPB is one of only a few
in the country that is approved by USDA-APHIS to inspect fish for export.
Together the four laboratories handle more than 2000 disease cases per
year.
Diagnostic Lab services are available to Arkansas fish farmers, owners of private lakes and ponds, state agencies, and anybody else with fish health related problems. Most services are free and are financed by the State of Arkansas and by federal funding through the USDA. When a fish health problem occurs, familiarize yourself with this fact sheet then call one of the diagnostic laboratories for advice on how to proceed. The labs are staffed 8-5 Monday through Friday. Walk-in customers are welcome, but if you are traveling a long distance to the lab, it is always a good idea to call ahead. Customers should always call the lab before shipping samples by commercial carriers.
Collection of Samples
In order to make a diagnosis and recommend treatment, samples of sick
fish and water must be collected for workup at the diagnostic lab. Collection
and handling of the sample is the most critical step in obtaining an accurate
diagnosis of a fish disease problem. In most cases, only a relatively small
percentage of all the fish in a pond are sick at one time and it is imperative
that those sick fish are collected and sent to the Diagnostic lab. The
best fish sample is sick fish that show obvious signs of disease or are
alive but resting in the pond edge. Pond owners should walk around the
pond and search for sick fish. It is a tedious job but saves considerable
time compared to sending in a poor sample that does not provide a useful
diagnosis.
It is frequently difficult to find sick fish even in a pond where many fish are dead. When faced with this situation, pond owners often submit "freshly dead" fish to the diagnostic laboratories. Samples of freshly dead fish may sometimes be useful as long as the fish still has clear eyes, red gills, and shows no signs of decomposition. However, freshly-dead fish are very inferior to live sick fish and changes that occur immediately upon the death of the fish may make accurate disease diagnosis difficult or impossible. When a fish dies, small external parasites may be lost almost immediately, environmental bacteria invade the fish and make it difficult to find disease bacteria, and viruses may die within a few hours. In addition, changes that rapidly occur in most organs make other diagnostic techniques (like histology) nearly impossible.
Another approach to not being able to find a sick fish is to try other sample methods. Random fish can be collected by snagging, seining, or cast nets but these samples will only be useful in cases where a very high percentage of fish in a pond have an active form of the disease. Fish that are caught using baited hooks, or that are netted or snagged while fish feed, are not useful. Only healthy fish feed, so a sample of fish that are feeding is useless. The figures below (links) show advantages and disadvantage soft different collection methods.
Along with sick fish, a water sample from the effected pond should always be submitted to the diagnostic lab. This sample should consist of at least 250 ml (about 8 ounces) of water. The water should be collected from the pond away from the pond edge. The sample should be collected in a very clean. Traces of soda, juice, detergents, or other chemicals contaminating sample bottles may lead to inaccurate water test results. It is important to rinse the jar several times in pond water before collecting the sample. Water samples should be shipped along with the sick fish, but the water in which the fish are shipped is unsuitable. The water for analysis must be in a bottle separate from the fish. The container with the water sample should be kept cool and out of direct sunlight. If fish are shipped on ice, put the water sample on ice also. If samples of plants and algae are to be included, but them in their own container (a bag or bottle as appropriate), don’t put them in the water sample. The plants may cause major changes to the water sample during shipping.
Shipping Fish Samples to the Diagnostic
Laboratory
The best way to ship live samples of sick fish to the diagnostic labs
is to put the fish in a bucket or cooler of pond water and drive them directly
to the lab. Make sure that the fish have lots of room so that they do not
die from lack of oxygen in route. If the trip is a long one, if open containers
of water are not feasible, or if it appears that the fish will not survive
the trip, fish may be placed in clean plastic bags without water and then
shipped on ice. If samples of fish that were collected when "freshly dead"
are to be submitted, these fish should always be shipped in bags without
water and surrounded by ice.
When the distance to the diagnostic lab is so great that driving to the lab is impractical, other methods of shipping samples can be used. Both live and dead fish can be shipped by overnight express. Live fish must be in water and oxygen, dead fish must be buried in ice. Fish can be shipped frozen, by dry ice is required and it may be hard to find in your area plus some shippers have very strict regulations limiting dry ice use. Another alternative is to place small fish or piece soft large fish in formaldehyde solutions for shipping. These different methods of shipping by commercial carriers have advantages and disadvantages which are listed below.
Live Fish
Fish on Ice
Frozen Fish
Fish in Formaldehyde
When fish are to be shipped to the disease labs by a commercial carrier, it is very important to call the Disease Laboratory, describe your case, get additional advice on shipping methods, and let the laboratory know exactly when to expect the arrival of the sample. If the shipping company gives you a tracking number, provide that number to the disease lab so that the lab can help insure the sample’s timely arrival. Most samples shipped by commercial carrier should go the Diagnostic laboratory on the UAPB campus (addresses below)
Information Needed for an Accurate
Diagnosis
In many cases, accurate information describing the history and characteristics
of a fish health problem is critical to a successful diagnosis and proper
treatment. Pond owners should be prepared to provide the following information
either by phone or in person if samples are hand delivered.
When to expect results
Results of water quality analysis and examination for parasites are
usually complete within a few hours of receipt of the sample. This work
is frequently completed on a "while you wait" basis. Bacterial cultures
take 2-5 days. Viral cultures take 4-30 days depending on the virus.
As soon as sufficient data is available (hours to days depending on the problem) a diagnosis will be made and treatment options outlined. It is the policy of the Diagnostic Program to recommend only those treatments that are scientifically demonstrated to be safe and effective and to use chemicals only when a significant benefit can be reasonable anticipated. Only treatments legal under state and federal law will be recommended. The use of illegal treatments may jeopardize public health and subject those involved to criminal prosecution.
Fish Health Export Inspection
Commercial fish producers that wish to export fish may be required to
provide a certificate of fish health inspection to authorities in the recipient
state or country. Different states and countries all have their own regulations
specifying correct protocols for fish inspection. These regulations may
specify sample collection techniques, sample size, sample shipping, and
diagnostic methods. Farmers contemplating out-of-state shipments should
get advice from wildlife or veterinary medical agencies with jurisdiction
over the shipment’s destination. The UAPB diagnostic labs can provide assistance
in determining which regulations may apply to a particular fish shipment.
Inspection of fish for export usually requires submission of a fish sample to the Diagnostic Laboratory. The fish are examined according to the wishes of the recipient state or country and documents are prepared for submission to the appropriate agencies. Farmers should investigate export rules and contact the Diagnostic Labs well in advance of any shipment to jurisdictions with which the farmers has no prior experience. In any case, it is always advisable to phone the Diagnostic Lab and notify them that an inspection is needed, when the sample will be submitted, and how quickly results must be obtained.
Fees
Water quality analysis, disease diagnosis, and inspections for interstate
transport are all free services. There is a charge of $500 for semi-annual
inspections of fish farms that export according to USDA-APHIS protocols.
If fish are shipped to one of the diagnostic labs, the farmer or pond owner
is responsible for shipping fees.
Diagnostic Lab Locations
There are four diagnostic laboratories in the Extension Program. Pond-owners
that will deliver their own fish to the lab should select the nearest lab.
Although all three labs are staffed during normal business hours, it is
always advisable to call the laboratory before bringing in a sample. If
the nearest lab is unavailable by telephone, call one of the other diagnostic
labs for advice.
The lab in Lonoke specializes in baitfish and ornamentals. The lab in Lake Village specializes in catfish. The Newport Laboratory does both catfish and baitfish. The lab in Pine Bluff handles all species and is responsible for virology, histopathology, molecular diagnostics (PCR) and USDA-APHIS approved inspections for export to countries that require USDA documentation. Pond-owners that contemplate shipping fish samples may wish to contact the Diagnostic Lab specializing in the species of fish that is to be submitted.
Addresses, physical locations, and telephone numbers for the four Diagnostic labs are below.
Lonoke –
Baitfish and Ornamentals
The lab is in the Lonoke Agricultural Center Building on the south side
of Highway 70, 1 mile east of Downtown Lonoke. The building is located
right next to the Arkansas National Guard armory.
Lake Village -
Catfish
The lab is in the Cooperative Extension Service Building on the east
side of highway 65 just south of the intersection of highway 65 and highway
82 in Lake Village.
Newport – Catfish
and Baitfish
The lab is located on the campus of ASU-Newport.
Pine Bluff-
Any species including sportfish, USDA-APHIS inspection
The lab is located on the campus of UAPB. Turn west off of highway 79
(University Drive) on Oliver Road. The lab is in the 1890 Extension Building
at the corner of Oliver and Spruce.
