What disease causes a fish to grow white hairy material all over its body?
What disease causes a fish to grow white fuzz all over its body?
The fish has saprolegniasis, commonly known as white fuzz disease or skin mold disease. When the water mold first parasitizes the fish, generally no abnormal symptoms are visible in the diseased fish; by the time the symptoms are seen, the mycelium has already invaded the fish's wound and is growing outward. Sometimes, because parasites, bacteria and other pathogens infect and cause the primary lesion to ulcerate, the zoospores of the mold invade from the ulcerated part of the fish body, absorb nutrients from the skin, and multiply, spread and expand rapidly at the injured lesion, gradually growing cotton-like hyphae. The hyphae tangle and adhere to the cellular tissue of the wound, causing the skin to ulcerate and the tissue to necrose. At the same time, as the area of the lesion expands, the burden on the fish body becomes too heavy, swimming becomes abnormal, appetite decreases, and the fish body becomes emaciated, and ultimately the diseased fish dies from physical exhaustion.
This disease generally occurs in low water temperature environments below 20°C, and is most likely to be prevalent in spring and late winter. Water mold has no strict selectivity for hosts, and various farmed fish species, from eggs to adult fish, are easily infected. Fish in densely stocked overwintering ponds, fish in clear and lean water bodies in spring, or fish in a state of starvation are most susceptible to saprolegniasis.
Control methods: During the process of moving fish into ponds, operations should be as careful as possible, and the fish body should not be injured. Before entering the pond, soak the fingerlings in a 3%-5% salt water solution for 8-10 minutes. Avoid handling farmed fish under conditions below 15°C, so as to prevent the fish body from freezing or being scratched. If it is found that the fish have already been infected with saprolegniasis, baking soda and dibromohydantoin mixture can be splashed over the whole pond, but attention should be paid to the physique of the diseased fish and changes in water quality, in order to prevent production accidents.
This disease generally occurs in low water temperature environments below 20°C, and is most likely to be prevalent in spring and late winter. Water mold has no strict selectivity for hosts, and various farmed fish species, from eggs to adult fish, are easily infected. Fish in densely stocked overwintering ponds, fish in clear and lean water bodies in spring, or fish in a state of starvation are most susceptible to saprolegniasis.
Control methods: During the process of moving fish into ponds, operations should be as careful as possible, and the fish body should not be injured. Before entering the pond, soak the fingerlings in a 3%-5% salt water solution for 8-10 minutes. Avoid handling farmed fish under conditions below 15°C, so as to prevent the fish body from freezing or being scratched. If it is found that the fish have already been infected with saprolegniasis, baking soda and dibromohydantoin mixture can be splashed over the whole pond, but attention should be paid to the physique of the diseased fish and changes in water quality, in order to prevent production accidents.