nudge

16; various cichlid species. 5 parrot cichlids. 4 humphead cichlids. 3 Jack Dempseys. 2 Snow White Cichlids. 1 Green Terror. 1 juvenile of unidentified species (so far).

Oh definitely; they might have suspended public transportation but people are definitely still coming and leaving. You can't possibly lock down almost 20 million people without imposing some sort of martial law. Your second point definitely makes sense too. I've read a comment from some Australian virologist who was worried that the Chinese authorities might have “just created a large cell-culture dish in which all these people will share the infection and create a lot more cases all stuck in Wuhan”.

Ezhou too (starting tonight). WHO press conference right now: While it's a public health emergency in China, it has not yet become a global emergency. The committee was divided (almost 50/50) whether to declare this a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) but decided it's too early for that. Too few cases confirmed outside of China at this point and China is doing good work trying to contain the virus. Depending on the further development of the virus, WHO will revise their approach.

The black spots are mostly gone from the second fish now too looks like we're good for now.

Because people in question work in industries that cater directly to Chinese tourists and expats + the medical care in the country is poor. With the Lunar New Year approaching, mass travel is to be expected and the chances of the virus spreading among certain groups increases, especially as it's adapting and mutating. Don't know if you remember the outbreak of SARS but it ended up killing around 800 people (mortality of 10%) and not only those who were elderly/young or had pre-existing health conditions. MERS has a mortality of at least 35%. This new strain comes from the same family of coronaviruses and appears to be more contagious. No need to panic but people who have a relatively high chance of being exposed to it are understandably starting to worry a bit.

Two suspected cases in Scotland; placed into isolation with flu-like symptoms after travelling to China. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/coronavirus-fears-scotland-two-hospital-21343666

I have friends/people I care about in SE Asia so I'm getting a bit worried. I also want to go back there in the next few months so I hope the situation doesn't get worse.

Two confirmed cases in Vietnam: https://news.zing.vn/tphcm-phat-hien-2-nguoi-trung-quoc-duong-tinh-voi-virus-corona-post1039221.html

Singapore confirms its first case of the virus. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/wuhan-virus-pneumonia-singapore-confirms-first-case-12312860?cid=TWTcna

Already happening in China apparently!

I get what you're saying but with the number of people travelling daily that's pretty much impossible I think...

Latest official updates from China: Data statistics as of 2020-01-23 12:02 Nationwide: 585 cases confirmed, 392 suspected, 28 cases cured, 17 deaths (of which 10 cases have not been identified for the time being) Source of infection: Not known, but may come from snakes or bats Virus: New Coronavirus 2019-nCoV Transmission channels: Not fully grasped, human-to-human transmission, medical staff infection, and community transmission to a certain extent Does the virus mutate: it is possible Whether the epidemic has spread: yes Source: https://3g.dxy.cn/newh5/view/pneumonia

Airport health checks are already being carried out in numerous countries; the problem is the incubation period. It is said to be around 3-12 days in case of this new coronavirus although that's just an estimated guess. The actual incubation period as well as the transmission mechanism is not yet known and has been approximated with the estimates obtained for MERS and SARS... So that basically means that infected people without an onset of symptoms are pretty much impossible to be identified via simple screening. Not to mention that even people with symptoms such as fever can easily pass those airport checks. In fact a woman from Wuhan just did it in order to enter France and even boasted about it on social media... so now there's a suspected case in France as well. WHO will decided today on declaring a global health emergency. It's also worth noting that the actual number of cases is likely under-reported and the virus is already spread much more than we think it is.

570+ officially confirmed cases and 17 fatalities. Has already spread to at least six countries, including the US, Japan, South Korea, Thailand. The virus has originated in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, reportedly from a local wildlife market (most likely from bats and snakes). The virus strain is in the same family as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). It has reportedly mutated and can be transmitted from human to human. China has put the Wuhan and two other cities (Huanggang and Ezhou) under lockdown, all forms of public transport are suspended under further notice, main highways are being shut down, people are urged to avoid crowds and large gatherings, and face masks are mandatory. There are fears of the virus spreading more rapidly with the Lunar New Year approaching, which means hundreds of millions people traveling all over the world.

Pellets. This one is specifically what the fish store gave us to help with the colour of the blood parrots.

I'm afraid if I do that it might turn into a precious little snowflake and start complaining about its food not being vegan, kosher, gluten and lactose free, low carb, and ethically produced by local farmers.

@Mel81x just took some pics and noticed a few things - one of the two fish still has visible black/brown smudges but they seem less intense than before. The second one (the smaller) barely has any at all, most of them seem to have disappeared and it's getting its normal colour back!!!

Cheers, I googled it myself earlier too but this doesn't seem to be the likely cause... We tested the water and the parameters are fine (all tests show optimal condition). The two fish in question are orange blood parrots (there are 4 more of them in the tank); from what I managed to read so far it seems black spots are quite common in the species and they can develop them from anything; like a large water change, stress, maturation, or something serious like disease or a parasite. The blood parrots are apparently laboratory created hybrids of unspecified origin

Moving around all over the tank, don't appear to be sluggish or stressed and have normal appetite. I'll get a pic of the spots a bit later if you don't mind.

Thanks for that! I took over the aquarium from the previous owner who had it all set up and going for around two years; he'll also be coming round to show me how to properly clean it and change water etc. But I will definitely bother you if I have any questions! The only concern now is two fish that seem to have gotten some black smudges on their body, tail and fins. It doesn't seem to affect any other fish (there are 16 in the tank in total) and the two don't show any other symptoms either. The guy in the fish store thinks it's food-related (could make sense as the previous owner mentioned he changed the food a few weeks back and that's then the spots appeared) so we switched back to the previously used food a few days ago. No more new black spots seem to have appeared but I'm not sure they're disappearing either.

I'll have to ask the parents

This is a fantastic idea. I'll hit the shop tomorrow. This is my first aquarium ever and I kind of got it unexpectedly a few days ago so I have absolutely no clue

Read about it earlier today; very fascinating and hopefully it will show even more promise when human trials start.