Who better to learn about fish health than from professionals?

Toledo Zoo and Advanced Aquarist are teaming up for a new magazine column aimed at building a body of accurate information for freshwater and saltwater fish health.  Our readers will be able to submit questions about their animal’s health issues to Jay Hemdal and Dr. Yousuf Jafarey, who will provide the most appropriate course of action.  For clarity: The primary purpose of this column is not to provide immediate assistance for one aquarist’s fish health issues but rather to develop a knowledge base over time for all aquarists to learn about fish health.

Jay Hemdal, Curator of Fishes and Invertebrates for the Toledo Zoo, summarizes the goal of the new column:

Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task.  Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated issues.  Online resources such as forums are available, but they have two major drawbacks; the people responding to your question may not be experienced enough offer a viable solution, and secondly, there may be more than one solution offered, making it difficult to determine which course of treatment to follow.  Our intent here is to offer expert advice for your fish disease issues, using a blend of good husbandry knowledge from a well-known public aquarium curator combined with the unique expertise of an exotic animal veterinarian who has clinical knowledge of fish health issues.

In the coming weeks, we’ll share details about how you can submit your fish health questions for the new Q&A column, which will premiere within a month.  Advanced Aquarist and the Toledo Zoo are equally excited about the potential for this new magazine column to help all aquarists become better fishkeepers.