Ornamental fish in veterinary practice

Veterinary practice is a private business that provides professional health care to many species of animals. There is now an increasing division of the veterinary profession into specialist niches, and exotic pet medicine is currently an expanding area. Many veterinarians are becoming species-specific treating only horses or poultry, or food-fish. Some are discipline-specific such as dermatologists, ophthalmologists and orthopaedic surgeons. This division is mainly driven by a consumer demand for specialists with particular knowledge, skills or facilities. However, this is unlikely to occur in pet fish medicine for economic reasons despite the fact that, in the UK, it is estimated that there are over 100 million pet fish but only about 15 million dogs and cats. Veterinary health care is an expensive service to provide. It is all privately funded: there are no government subsidies, tax relief or concessions. Some ornamental fish may be financially valuable but their owners are often reluctant to spend money on professional fees.