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North Marine Technologies

NMT is specialized in fish tags and fish tagging. We invite you to explore their applications to your project. Managers and scientists use fish tags to learn about how fish grow, who catches them, where they go, and how long they live, for example.

Coded Wire Tags (CWT), Visible Implant Elastomer (VIE) and Visible Implant Alpha (VI Alpha) are available. They technology were first developed for salmon, but are now used worldwide with a wide range of fish species, crustaceans, cephalopods, reptiles, amphibians and other animals throughout the world. Projects range from identifying a few animals in the lab to coastwide programs. In the Pacific NW, over 2 billion juvenile salmon have been tagged with Coded Wire Tags. This vast program inspired the development of AutoFish System for clipping and tagging tens of millions of fish per year.

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Visible Elastomer Tags (VIE) for Research

from $ 45.00 USD

VIE color standard with flashlight VI light

Visible Elastomer Tags (VIE) for Research

$ 45.00 USD

This product is sold by BIOWEB in America countries, but if you are in United States or Canada please contact the vendor Northwest Marine Technology directly.

Don't cut more phalanx, fins neither ears. Now you may use advanced tags.

Visible Implant Elastomer (VIE) is a two-part silicone based material that is mixed immediately before use. VIE tags are injected as a liquid that soon cures into a pliable, biocompatible solid. The tags are implanted beneath transparent or translucent tissue and remain externally visible. In many amphibians, VIE tags are even visible through darkly pigmented skin. VIE tags are widely used for marking an ever-broadening range of finfish, crustaceans, reptiles, amphibians and small mammals. Check some papers below. Extensive information about using VIE is available in the Visible Implant Elastomer Tag Project Manual (English PDF 294KB; Spanish PDF 217KB).

VIE is available in six fluorescent and four non-fluorescent colors. The fluorescent colors are highly visible under ambient light and provide the option of greatly enhanced tag detection when fluoresced with the VI Light.

Proper color selection is a vital part of good experimental design. Your choice depends on how much contrast you need with the background pigmentation, how many different colors you require, and the type of light you will use to fluoresce the tags.

VIE is a medical-grade, two-part silicone based material that is mixed immediately before use and then injected as a liquid that cures into a pliable, biocompatible solid. Immediately after mixing, the user will have between 45 to 60 minutes (in warm environments) and 2 hours (in cold environments) of working time during which the tags can be injected.

For unmixed elastomer, you can store it for one year from the date of purchase in a cupboard, away from sunlight or heat. The unmixed elastomer should never be stored in the freezer.

Specifications
In the Box
Required Items
Optional Items
Manuals
Papers

1 ml Kit
The Trial Pack is ideal for small tagging projects or for pilot studies evaluating the tags for larger projects. It has material for approximately 200 tags.

6 ml Kit
The VIE 6ML Kit is designed for projects where one or two colors are needed for either a single batch tag, or for multiple batches where several tag locations are used. It has enough material for approximately 1,200 tags.

24 ml Kit
The VIE 24ML Kit is ideal for projects requiring a variety of colors. It has enough material for approximately 5,000 tags.

60 ml Kit
The VIE 60ML Kit is the largest of the manual kits. It has enough material for approximately 12,000 tags. If you will be tagging many thousands of animals, please consider using the VIE Air Driven Elastomer Injection System.
1 ml Kit
- 1 ml of elastomer (customer chooses one color)
- Mixing supplies
- Injection syringes (3)

6 ml Kit
- 6 ml of elastomer (customer selects up to two colors)
- Mixing supplies
- Injection syringes (20)
- Written and video instructions
- Manual Elastomer Injector
- Flashlight VI Light
- VIE Color Standard
- Field carrying case

24 ml Kit
- 24 ml of elastomer (customer selects up to eight colors)
- Mixing supplies
- Injection syringes (60)
- Written and video instructions
- Manual Elastomer Injector
- Flashlight VI Light
- VIE Color Standard
- Field carrying case

60 ml Kit
- 60 ml of elastomer (customer selects up to ten colors)
- Mixing supplies
- Injection syringes (200)
- Written and video instructions
- Manual Elastomer Injector (2)
- Flashlight VI Light
- VIE Color Standard
- Field carrying case
1 ml Kit
- Flashlight VI Light by NMT (if fluorescent color is selected).
- Manual Elastomer Injector.
When the supplies in your kit have been exhausted, you may want to the refill kits 6 ml containing elastomer, mixing and injecting supplies.

- Refill Kit for VIE Tags, 6 ml
- Davy, Christina M.;, Suzanne M. Coombes; Amelia K. Whitear & Alistair S. MacKenzie. 2010. Visible Implant Elastomer: A simple, non-harmful method for marking hatchlings turtles. Herpetological Review. 41(4), 442-445.

- Waudby, Helen P.; & Sophie Petit. 2011. Comments on the efficacy and use of Visible Implant Elastomer (VIE) for marking lizards. The South Australian Naturalist 85(1): 7–13.

- Daniel, Jeremy A.; Kevin A. Baker & Kevin R. Bonine. 2006. Retention Rates of Surface and Implantable Marking Methods in the Mediterranean House Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus), with Notes on Capture Methods and Rates of Skin Shedding. Herpetological Review, 37(3), 319–321.

- Penney, Kistren M.; Kristie D. Gianopulos & Henry R. Mushinsky. 2001. The Visible Implant Elastomer marking technique in use for small reptiles. Herpetological Review, 32(4), 236-241.

- Hutchens, Tan J.; Christopher S. Deperno; Charlotte E. Matthews; Kenneth H. Pollock & David K. Woodward. 2008. Visible Implant Fluorescent Elastomer: A reliable marking alternative for snakes. Herpetological Review, 39(3), 301–303.

- Kondo, Junko & Sharon J. Downes. Using Visible Implant Elastomer to Individually Mark Geckos. School of Botany and Zoology, Australian National University.

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VI Alpha Tags can be injected under clear and lightly pigmented tissue, as in this frog leg.

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Visible Alpha Tags (VI Alpha) x 100 u.

from $ 90.00 USD

Visible Implant Alpha Tags (VI Alpha) Injector

Visible Alpha Tags (VI Alpha) x 100 u.

$ 90.00 USD

This product is sold by BIOWEB in America countries but if you are in United States or Canada. Please contact the vendor Northwest Marine Technology directly.

The VI Alpha Tags are a small, fluorescent tags with an alphanumeric code designed to identify individual animals. VI Alpha Tags are implanted internally but remain externally visible for easy recovery. The new VI Alpha Tags were introduced in 2010.

VI Alpha Tags are available in two sizes: standard (1.2 mm x 2.7 mm), shown in yellow, and large (2 mm x 5 mm), shown in orange. The larger tags are easier to read than the standard tags, and are suitable for larger animals.

Large tags have black lettering on a fluorescent orange background, while standard tags are available with black lettering on a fluorescent orange, red, yellow or green background. Each color has 2,500 different codes. The codes available are the letter-number-number combinations from A00 through Z99 (excluding Q00-Q99).

Tag readability and detection can be enhanced by fluorescing the tags with the VI Light.

VI Alpha Tags are easy to load. Slide the tag into the needle, and snap it off.

Each 100 tags ordered must be the same color, and will have consecutive coding.

Please contact us for advice about applications to particular species.

Specifications
In the Box
Required Items
Optional Items
How to Use

- Easy to load and inject
- Stable for long-term storage
- Backed by NMT one year guarantee and expert customer service (only in United States).
VI Alpha Starter Kit
- Tags (100)
- VI Alpha Injector (1)
- Flashlight VI Light by NMT (1)
- Replacement Needle and Shim (1)
- VI Alpha Injector
- Flashlight VI Light by NMT
VI Alpha Tags are easiest to read when they are placed under clear or translucent tissue. In some cases, the tags can be placed under pigmented tissue where they are not visible in ambient light, but can be seen when they are fluoresced with the VI Light. This tends to be more effective if the tissue is evenly pigmented rather than mottled.

Many fish have transparent tissue (adipose eyelids, fin membranes, clear boney tissue, etc.), but tag retention varies by body location and species. For example, the adipose eyelids of salmonids have generally proven to be suitable for VI Alpha tags, but implants into similar tissue in mullet (Mugulidae) have been rapidly shed. Buckmeier and Irwin (2000) found that 100% of VI Alpha Tags implanted in the dorsal fin of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus were shed. However, researchers with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources developed a successful method of implanting VI Alpha tags into the tongue of flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris). The size of the tagged animal is also important. Shedding rates from adipose eyelids of salmonids less than 150 mm total length can be excessive while retention in larger fish often exceeds 90%. More on Adipose Eyelid Tissue here.

VI Alpha and VI Elastomer Tags are widely used for individual identification of amphibians as an alternative to toe clipping. Tag retention tends to be nearly 100%, although the visibility of the tags varies based on the pigmentation of the overlying skin.

You would like to check:
VI Alpha Instructions (.pdf)
Using the VI Light (.pdf)

VI Alpha Tags are not as widely used as VIE, but there are also many publications available that describe their use. In thick skinned, or heavily pigmented species, the numbers may not be visible, so it is important to consider the species to be tagged and the location of the tag. For example, Clemas et al. (2009) found that the pigmentation of Litoria raniformis obscured the tags, but VI Alpha were reliable for tagging large Litoria ewingii. On the other hand, Heard et al. (2008) was able to tag juvenile Litoria raniformis with VI Alpha tags and found they remained readable. As with VIE tags, using the VI Light dramatically improves the detection and readability of VI Alpha tags, sometimes even through highly pigmented skin.

Measey et al. (2001) found there to be no negative effects of VI Alpha tags in a legless amphibian (Gegeneophis ramaswamii), and further stated that when individual identification is necessary that these tags are the “most promising” of the investigated tags. Buchan et al. (2005) tested VI Alpha in a number of species, and concluded that VI Alpha “appears to be an effective and low cost method for individually marking and identifying amphibians”. Kaiser et al. (2009) evaluated and used VI Alpha Tags to track individual Dendropsophus microcephalus.

Osbourne et al (2011) discuss the use of VI Alpha tags in juvenile ambystomid salamanders and provide extensive detail about their application and readability.

VI Alpha Tags have been used to identify individual hatchling turtles by gluing them to the carapace (Rosenburg & Swift, 2010).