Saving a seahorse

UF vets use a novel treatment to mend Louie, a tiny trailblazer

By Sarah Carey
Louie Louie came to Gainesville from his home in Chiefland in a container with water from his saltwater tank.
louie Louie was briefly sedated, enabling veterinarians to weigh him and obtain a skin scrape to look for parasites, bacteria of fungus.
louie Louie was put into a glass vessel that was then placed inside the hospital’s oxygen-based hyperbaric chamber, the first time UF has used it to treat an aquatic species
“I learned that very few veterinarians are equipped to treat these amazing fish. Louie and I received the best treatment from every person with whom we interacted at the UF veterinary college.”
— Carol Benge