diagnostic services, I provide bacterial, parasitic
and histopatholgy evaluation of tropical, ornamental and foodfish
fish sent to me alive. Depending on the situation, I usually request
6-8 infected/affected individuals alive for analysis, though this can
be modified if the situation warrants. Obviously I am not able to
return the fish. As this service is provided through the service
laboratories of our veterinary college, there is a minimum base fee
charge of $50.00 which is billed through the college. Additional cost
may be incurred by special tests required such as bacterial
sensitivities. We do not offer specific viral
isolation/identification, but depend on histopathology to provide
preliminary evidence of potential viral pathology. So the bottom line
is that a fish client will spend approximately $60-$100 to ship live
fish overnight, and then we add on another $50 for diagnostic
evaluation. Presently about 40% of my caseload is tropical/ornamental
fish, with the majority of that being from private angelfish and
other cichlid producers. I also provide diagnostic services for
several public aquariums.