HAMES Laboratory Method:
Submission of live tilapia for diagnostic laboratory examination

Purpose

Tilapia with clinical signs of external or systemic bacterial infection can be submitted live or sacrificed/freshly dead for culture, isolation and identification of bacterial pathogens. As long as the tissues of the fish are fresh and post mortem degeneration has not set in, most bacterial pathogens of tilapia can still be recovered by culture on artificial media from sites of infection in the tissues.

Equipment and supplies

1. Ice
2. Clean plastic bags
3. Styrofoam cooler
4. Cardboard shipping box
5. MS-222 anesthetic
6. Labels and indelible marking pen or #2 pencil
7. Address labels and tape for sealing shipment box

Procedure

1. Collect three to five fish that display signs of bacterial infection (weak swimming, disorientation, hemorrhages, dark coloration red spots, skin sores, etc.).
2. If the tilapia are alive, kill the fish by immersion in a overdose solution of anesthetic (MS-222).
3. Remove and place each specimen in a separate plastic bag. Label each bag and place into the cooler with ice.
4. With tape, seal the cooler and place into the cardboard shipping box.
5. Label the appropriate address on the outside of the box and send to a qualified laboratory.