Seahorse Rescue: Florida Vet School Saves a Seahorse from Gas Bubble Disease

The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine successfully treated a pet seahorse from gas bubble disease using a novel approach, opening a door for the facility to offer the treatment to professional and hobby fish owner's pets.

Carol Benge of Florida has marked her fifth-cancer-free-year in February and as a reward, she brought herself an aquarium and a seahorse. She named the seahorse Louie.

The sight of the 3-inch Louie floating around the tank brought so much pleasure to Benge, a school teacher. She feeds Louie tiny shrimp brines.

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Gas Bubble Disease

In September, around seven months since she adopted Louie, Benge noticed that the seahorse is moving horizontally and appears to be listless.

She notices small, pearl-like bubbles clustered on his tail. Benge suspected that Louie had gas bubble disease, a condition similar to a human scuba diver getting bends.

According to the University of Florida vets, gas bubble disease is common in aquariums, and sea horses, in particular, are vulnerable to such conditions. The experts, however, are not sure why.

Benge acted quickly. She wanted to save Louie's life and she had to make it quick.

She first called the local veterinarian's office. But upon learning that the patient was a seahorse, the vet's office said that they do not have the knowledge to treat Louie. Benge then rushed to the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in the hopes of saving Louie's life.

The experiment

The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine did not have much experience in cases like these on fished but the experts asked if they could do an experiment to Louie at no cost, to which Benge consented. The UF vet team then placed Louie in a hyperbaric chamber, similar to what is being done to human divers who suffer from bends. The hyperbaric oxygen chamber is normally used to treat mammals that are healing from wounds. The chamber's first patient was a dog that was bitten by a snake. This is the first time that the vet school would treat a fish in a tank.

When at the chamber, the seahorse was quiet and was floating sideways. The vet team monitored Louise closely.

A treatment protocol devised by the US Navy for the fish was performed on Louie. The fish was placed in a glass container inside the hyperbaric chamber and it was shut tight.

The volume and diameter of gas bubbles in Louie's tissue were significantly reduced using pressure and time. The pressure was slowly released to allow them adequate time for degassing to avoid the reformation of the bubbles.

The University of Florida veterinarians successfully treated Louie. After Louie was taken out of the chamber, the fish seemed to be swimming around and is more interactive.

The success of the treatment opened a new possibility to the vets of the University of Florida: offering such treatment for professional and hobby fish owners.

For Benge, the seahorse's successful treatment from gas bubble disease meant something sweeter. "Some people would say it's a fairly insignificant life, but if there's one thing you can do to add something positive to the world, why not do it?" she said.

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