Quote:
Originally posted by Putawaywet
FWIW, I had the opportunity to observe a necropsy on a Voltan Lion that had succumbed to apparent natural causes. To everyone's surprise the liver cross sections uncovered an abundance of fatty deposits within the tissue.
This animal as well as it's tankmakes were fed 6-7 days/week on a mixed diet that consisted of alternating days of raw shrimp, clam and capelin. Needless to say, everyone in the tank appeared fat and happy with the emphesis on fat.
Post necropsy the diet was changed to a couple days of shrimp or clam, followed by a day or two of large krill, followed by a day of fasting.
Several years after the change in diet all fish have slimmed down significantly and there have been no additional losses that can be attributed to nutrition issues.
So, not only is it import what you feed to your animals, but the "how much" and "how often" plays a major part in the equation as well.
Brett
|
Is it clear that diet and death by a "fatty" liver are directly realted? I would think that a number of conditions could cause fatty accumulation in the liver?
Were you having a rash of deaths from fatty livers (which then stopped when the diet was changed) or was the lion the only one?
I've very concerned about the health of my lions and I would interested in any additional information you could provide.
In the wild, I frequently observe "obese" fish - so I'm leary about placing judgment on a fish's appearance based on how i think they should look.
With a background in both commerical and "recrecation" fish breeding, it's not a surprise that I consider myself to be a very heavy feeder. I've been able to keep a number of my fish alive for over 7 years (and counting) but I don't want to loss any at 8 years due to something like this.