Quote:
Originally posted by hankthetank
The amazing part is that anyone who has ever used Trichlorfon(Clout)should have read the label where it says not to use it on scaleless fishes.And marine biologists didn't know this?That is the real crime here.
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Sharks have scales. Not the same as we're used to in the teleosts (bony fish), but they have scales. A shark's skin is composed of thousands of tiny "denticles," the toothy-shaped sandpaper feeling little... well, scales.
Also, Trichlorfon IS used to treat other sharks. Other aquariums, including Georgia, still use Trichlorfon to treat their other shark exhibits. It does its job well. But just because animals are in the same taxonomic class (Chondrichthyes) does not mean that they are physiologically identical. Whale sharks are the only members of their genus and family even - a quick glance will tell you they are very different from most other sharks. Is it a shame that two passed away? Yes. Was it the best educated guess we had to keeping them from suffering from a parasitic onslaught? Yes. Guess we'll have to research what makes whale sharks more sensitive.