Aquaculture America 2021

August 11 - 14, 2021

San Antonio, Texas

TOOLS OF THE TRADE: USE OF A MOBILE LABORATORY FOR IDENTIFYING FISH DISEASES ON FARMS

Anita M. Kelly and Luke A. Roy
 
 Auburn University
 Auburn, Alabama 36849
 amk0105@auburn.edu
 

Extension personnel use a variety of tools to help diagnose aquatic animal diseases, water quality problems and aquatic weed identification.  Diagnosing aquatic animal diseases requires the use of water chemistry test kits, streaking various agar plates to determine if bacteria are the cause of a disease, as well as molecular techniques, all of which are standard equipment in fish disease diagnostic laboratories.  Consequently, most Extension offices depend on producers to bring animals, water, and plants to the office for diagnostics. Unfortunately, the person that delivers the samples is often just a farm worker and does not have the intimate details of the problem. To circumvent this, we retrofitted a small recreational vehicle (RV) that would contain everything except the ability to run molecular diagnostics. This tool enables the Extension personnel to go to the farm and the pond that is a concern to the producer.  On-site diagnostics ensures that moribund or sick fish are collected, water samples are fresh, and the ability of the diagnostician to actually see the behavior of the fish. This presentation will discuss the retrofitting of the RV and discuss the popularity of use. This RV was a valuable tool used frequently during the Covid-19 pandemic.