Dr. Nick Saint-Erne is a dedicated veterinarian who is passionate about pets, exotic animals, and aquatic veterinary medicine. He has over 35 years of experience in in veterinary hospitals treating dogs, cats, rabbits, rodents, ferrets, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, other exotic pets and zoo animals.  He was one of the first veterinarians certified as an Aquatic Veterinarian by the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association, and in 2017 was designated as a Distinguished Fellow of WAVMA.

Dr. Nick grew up in Wichita, Kansas and his major field of study was Fisheries Biology for his Bachelor of Science degree at Kansas State University. He attended the AQUAVET Program at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA in 1982. In 1984 he received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Kansas State University. After graduation, he moved to warmer climes and practiced small animal and exotic pet medicine in Las Vegas, Nevada for 15 years (1984-1999). In 1999 he moved to Arizona where he has worked in the retail pet industry and in clinical veterinary practice for aquatic animals and exotic pets.

He is an Executive Board member of the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association and was the WAVMA President for 2016. He is also a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians. 

In addition to Dr. Nick’s veterinary work, he has owned his own pet stores in Las Vegas and has been involved in the pet industry as a technical writer for the training materials and customer pet care handouts for a major pet store chain. He has worked with the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in drafting programs to improve the pet care in pet stores and to reduce the risk of spreading zoonotic diseases that people could catch from their pets.

Dr. Nick lectures worldwide on animal care topics for veterinarians, the aquaculture industry, and pet owners. He also teaches classes on Exotic Pet and Aquatic Animal Medicine to veterinary students at Midwestern University College of Veterinary Medicine. Each year since 2007, he teaches a two-day seminar on koi fish health at the Associated Koi Clubs of America annual convention.

PUBLICATIONS

Fish Nutrition, Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Manhattan, KS; 1984.
Metabolic Bone Disease in a Green Iguana, Journal of the AVMA, Schaumburg, IL; 1985.
Diseases of Koi, Erne Enterprises, Las Vegas, NV; 1994.
Advanced Koi Care, Erne Enterprises, Glendale, AZ; 2002. 2nd Edition; 2010.
Vet Assured Program Handbook, PetSmart, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona; 2000.
Fish Health Manual, PetSmart, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona; 2009.
Diagnostic Techniques and Treatments for Internal Disorders of Koi, Vet Clin Exotic Animals 13; 2010.
Clinical Report: Hikkui Disease in Koi, Aquatic Vet News, 5(2); 2011
Project Piaba: Supporting the Brazilian Ornamental Fish Collectors, The Aquatic Veterinarian, 8(1); 2014.
Tranquilization, Anesthesia and Euthanasia in Pet Fish, Companion Animal, Vol 19 No 12; 2014.
The Welfare of Ornamental Fish in the Home Aquarium, Companion Animal, Vol 20 No 4; 2015.
Therapeutics in Ornamental Fish, in Fish Diseases and Medicine by Stephen A. Smith, CRC Press; 2019.
Anesthesia and Euthanasia in Ornamental Fish, The Aquatic Veterinarian, 13(1); 2019.

PRESENTATIONS

Diseases of Koi (Cyprinus carpio)
International Association of Aquatic Animal Medicine, San Diego, CA; 1998. 

Advanced Koi Care Seminar
Associated Koi Clubs of America Annual Meetings, 1999, 2002, 2007-2019.

Advanced Koi Care Seminar
Pan Intercorp (Koi.com) Annual Seminar, Kenmore, WA; 2002.

Avian Care in the Pet Industry
Avian Welfare Seminar, San Diego, CA; 2002. 

Caring for PetSmart’s Critters
Banfield Pet Hospital Symposium, Portland, OR; 2002. 

Koi Health Seminar
University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, GA; January, 2004.

Koi Health Seminar
Eastern Nishikigoi Koi Festival, Westminster, CA; April, 2004.

Fish Diagnostic Techniques
Aquarium Symposium at Mandalay Bay Shark Reef Aquarium, Las Vegas, NV; February, 2007.

Pet Industry Efforts to Control Chytridiomycosis in Amphibians
International Society for Aquatic Animal Health, Tampa, FL; March, 2010.

Common Tropical Fish Diseases, Diagnosis and Treatments in the Retail Pet Industry
Controlling Chytridiomycosis in Aquatic Frogs in the Pet Industry
Ova Retention in Female Koi
Panel Discussion – Optimal, Practical & Economic Biosecurity
World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association Conference, Athens, Greece; July 2010.

The Fungus Among Us:  Chytrid Fungus in Pet Aquatic Frogs
The Trouble with Angels – Diagnosing Diseases of Angelfish
Wet Pet Vets:  Veterinary Care in the Retail Pet Industry
North American Veterinary Conference, Orlando FL; January, 2011.

Disease Control and Preventive Health Care in the Ornamental Fish Industry
The World Aquaculture Society Conference, Las Vegas, NV; February, 2012.

Therapeutic Options for Fish
Novartis Animal Health / Aquatic Animal Seminar, Charleston, SC; July, 2012.

Veterinary Care in the Tropical Fish Industry
Diseases of Fish Associated with Water Quality
Advanced Diagnostic Techniques
Therapeutic Options for Fish
American Veterinary Medical Association Convention, San Diego, CA; August, 2012.

Freshwater and Marine Ornamental Fish Industry
Freshwater and Marine Life Support Systems
Tropical Fish Disease Cases
Koi Health
Aquatic Veterinary Medicine Panel Discussion
Fish Diagnostics Wet Lab
Reptile Zoonotic Diseases and the Pet Industry
American Veterinary Medical Association Convention, Chicago, IL; July, 2013.

The Care of Pet Turtles and Tortoises
National Reptile Breeders Expo, Daytona, FL; August, 2013.

Veterinary Care in the Tropical Fish Industry
Project Piaba, Manaus, Amazonia, Brazil; January, 2014.

Aquatic Veterinary Medicine for the Private Practitioner
Tranquilization, Anesthesia and Euthanasia in Pet Fish
Surgery in Pet Fish
Finfish Clinical Exam & Diagnostic Sampling Wet Lab
American Veterinary Medical Association Convention, Denver, CO; July, 2014.

The Care of Pet Turtles and Tortoises
Zoonotic Diseases of Reptiles
Canadian Reptile Breeders Expo, Toronto, Canada; September, 2014.

Aquatic Veterinary Medicine
Diverse Veterinary Careers – Panel Discussion
U.C. Davis Pre-Veterinary Health National Conference, Davis, CA; October 2014.

Tranquillization, Anesthesia and Euthanasia in Pet Fish
World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association, WebCEPD lecture; WAVMA.org; December 20, 2014.

Anesthesiology in Fish
Surgery in Fish
How to Recognize and Interpret Clinical Signs of Fish Illnesses
Culture Shock!! Understanding and Managing Stress among Globetrotting Ornamental Fish
World Small Animal Veterinary Association Congress, Bangkok, Thailand; May, 2015.

An Introduction to Aquatic Veterinary Medicine
World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association, WebCEPD lecture; WAVMA.org; August 19, 2015.

Advanced Fish Diagnostic Techniques
Anesthesiology in Pet Fish
World Veterinary Congress, Istanbul, Turkey; September 13-17, 2015.

Advanced Koi Care Seminar
Rocky Mountain Koi Club, Denver, CO; October, 2015

Approved Veterinary Drugs for Use in Aquaculture in the United States
Recirculating Filtration Systems in Ornamental Fish Aquaculture
Fish Veterinary Society Annual Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland; March 22-23, 2016.

Recirculating Filtration Systems in Ornamental Fish Aquaculture
WAVMA Virtual Conference, WAVMA.org; May 2016.

The Pet Fish Industry in the US and Careers in Aquatic Medicine
AQUAVET 40th Anniversary Conference; Virginia Beach, VA; May 21, 2016.

Pet Care in Retail Pet Stores
Canadian Reptile Expo; Ontario, Canada; September 10, 2016.

Careers in Corporate Medicine
Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA; October 13, 2016.

Veterinary Care in the Ornamental Fish Industry
Zebra Fish as a Research Model
AQUAVET; Roger Williams University, Portsmouth, Rhode Island; June 23, 2017.

Tropical Fish Case: Loss Reduction in Guppies
Common Parasites in Ornamental Fish
Therapeutic Agents for Treating Ornamental Fish
WAVMA Conference and Annual General Meeting; Targu Mures, Romania; September 14, 2017.

The Ornamental Fish Industry
Zebra Fish as a Research Model
Common Koi Problems
AQUAVET; Roger Williams University, Portsmouth, Rhode Island; June 2018.

Water Quality Assessment in Aquatic Vet Medicine
Supplies and Equipment to Practice Aquatic Veterinary Medicine
Selected Case Studies in Ornamental Fish Medicine
World Small Animal Veterinary Association Congress, Singapore; September 2018