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What is 'importers virus'


Adrienne

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As the title says.

Was looking in the cichlids section and the word 'virus' came up. Last week asked someone how his fighters were going and said they had died of 'importers virus'.

Wondered if this was a specific term or a general saying when no one knows.

Not sure if I've posted this in the right place, if not can the mods move it please.

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I know some of the importers have had problems with batches of fish, especially fancy guppies. They arrive healthy, make it through quarantine, then when they are introduced to local conditions they all just die.

The theory was that there is a common virus or bacteria in NZ that these strains of fish have no resistance to. Because they have been intensivly inbred to maintain the fancy colours and forms they may very well have lower immunity to a fishy version of the common cold that our local fish just shrug off.

No hard science to back this up, just the experience of some importers.

Cheers

Ian

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In fact Ian, it is other way round - unfortunately - the imported guppies survive and all the ones that you had since 20 generations and which are finally doing what you thought they should be doing, colourwise etc., will DIE !!!

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That may be happening also.. they could just as easily bring in a new bug that doesn't affect them, but the local fish cant handle it. The quarantine wont pick it up, because they show no symptoms.

But I know from the importer I spoke to, their problem was that their imported fish were dieing shortly after they went out to pet shops. Not a good look for them and they actually stopped importing guppys because of it.

Either way.. not a good thing to have happen to you :(

Cheers

Ian

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In quarantine, the fish are often swimming in a puddle of chemicals just so as they can get them thru the six weeks Q time.

I have seen this in almost all the Q stations that I have visited, and one even employed a vet full time.

No wonder they die when they get into fresh, clean water.

I have only recently seen an importer putting a yellow powder in by the handful.

Several of you on this site will know of whom I speak.

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Having been in the importing game, just a couple of views. Importing rooms here tend to have UV sterilisers connected. To kill off unwanted organisms etc.

Therefore moving them to not so clean tanks can expose them to certain pathogens.

Some species are more prone to diseases than others, due to bad breeding practices, or changes from wild-man conditions.

Some have there own personal problems, neons, gupppies, discus....etc. Some are more prone to common diseases than others, ie; clown loaches to white spot.

Chances are the importer got a batch in where a group of fish weren't right. They just came down with something, could of been a bacterial infection, flukes, internal worms etc. Or something as common as dirty water. Few hundred guppies in a bag from Asia to NZ can cause problems. Also changes in ph, where we ordered from in Asia, they gave us the ranges they kept their fish in.

Frenchy :D

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It wasn't an importer I was talking to about the fighters, it was the person I first purchased a male and female fighter from when I originally started breeding them. he said he purchased a new fighter and it was suffering from importers disease which then killed off all his fish. thats why I was wondering what it was

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