Fish Health

Management

Maria Mojena Gallo Gonzales

College of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Western Philippines University
Fish Health Problems
 Also referred to as fish diseases

 A deviation from the state of complete physical or social

well-being of an organism involving a well-defined set of
symptoms and etiology, and leading to an impairment of its
normal function. It may be inherited or caused by
parasites, dietary deficiencies, or by physical and
chemical factors in the environment.

 May cause slower growth and even high mortalities leading

to decreased production and profit
Fish Health Problems
 Fish Health Problems

Based on the previous diagram fish

diseases could be classified according to
the following:

Environmental
Nutritional/Genetic
Infectious
 Environmental Diseases
 Caused mainly by poor water
quality
 Parameters beyond the optimum for
rearing
 Presence of pollutants, toxicants, or
excess waste in the water column

 Non-infective but can affect entire

cultured population

 Best exemplified by massive fish

kills (i.e. Laguna Lake)
Environmental Diseases
 Hypoxia
 Caused by low dissolved oxygen (below 2 ppm)
 Low DO brought about by algal blooms, high temperatures,
drought, overstocking, high decomposition rate due to organic
load
 Possible symptoms: fish gasping at the surface
 Gas Embolism (Gas Bubble Disease)
 Caused by oversaturation of water with gas (usually nitrogen gas
N2)
 Bubbles appear in the muscles, gills, and skin of fish
 Common in larval stages of fish
Environmental Diseases
 Ammonia Toxicity (NH3)
 Caused by degradation of organic matter and
pollutants
 High pH results in the dominance of the toxic form
of ammonia (NH3)
 Results in:
1. irritation of the nervous system
2. distal parts of fins may lose color
3. haemolysis (destruction of RBCs)
4. gill hyperplasia
 Levels beyond 0.1 mg/L can already be toxic
Environmental Diseases

 Nitrite Toxicity (NO2)

 Also known as “Brown Blood Disease”
 Caused by the accumulation of nitrates/nitrites in
water due to excess fertilizer or pollution
 Causes respiratory stress
 Occurs at levels above 1 mg/L
 Environmental Diseases
 Hydrogen Sulfide Toxicity (H2S)
Occur as a result of anaerobic bacterial
action and decomposition on the bottom
sediments and organic matter

SYMPTOMS:
1. Violet or reddish gills
2. Reduced hatchability of eggs
3. Suffocation
 Nutritional Diseases
 Nutritional diseases are caused by deficiency, excess or improper
balance of food components.

- improper formulation
- using imbalanced ingredients
- improper processing

 Most nutritional diseases are chronic in nature, usually developing

slowly over an extended period of time

 Undernourished animals cannot maintain health and growth

regardless of the quality of environment
 Nutritional Diseases
There are approx. 40 essential nutrients
required by all fish, the amount of each
depends on:
1. Fish species
2. Stage of development
3. Feeding habit
4. Type of culture
 Nutritional Diseases
 Vitamin C Deficiency
 Causes “fish scurvy” in finfishes
 In shrimps, “Black Death Disease” occurs if Vit. C is
deficient and is characterized by:

1. melanized lesion in the loose connective tissues

under the exoskeleton
2. melanized lesion on the abdomen, carapace, gills,
foregut and hindgut
Infectious Diseases

 Caused by pathogens that are either parasitic,

bacterial, or viral in nature

 Can be transmitted from one infected fish to

another

 Occurrence of infections increases with poor

water quality and low fish immunity
 Infectious Diseases (Parasites)
 Ectoparasites – infect external surfaces like skin, gills,
and fins
 Endoparasites – infect internal organs

 Protozoan Infections in Fish

 White spot disease (Ich) – Ichthyophthirius multifiliis
 Freshwater parasite affect both marine and freshwater fish
 White spots on skin and gills
 Treatment: 0.05% salt solution or 100ppm formalin bath for
1hr for 2-3 days
 Infectious Diseases (Parasites)
 Trichodiniosis
 Infestation by the Trichodina spp.
 Mortalities in young carp, tilapia, milkfish, sea bass, mullet, siganid,
grouper and snapper.
 Weak, excrete a lot of mucus, and have frayed fins and pale gills.
 Fish rub their body against the glass/ walls.
 Preventionn: application of salt solution (2-3%) for 2-5 mins for 3-4 days
(Freshwater fish) or 100% freshwater bath for 1 hr for 3 days for marine
fish.
 Parasitic Diseases (Fish)
Velvet disease – Amyloodinium ocellatum
Affect hatchery phase fish, also fingerlings and
broodstock of rabbit fish, grouper, milkfish,
mangrove red snapper, and mullet.
Excessive mucus production
Fish rubs against surfaces, abnormal swimming
behavior, gasping at the surface
Treatment: freshwater bath
Infectious Diseases (Parasites)
 Worm Infections in Fish
 Flatworms (Platyhelminthes)
 Common in marine fish
 Ectoparasitic – monogeneans (Gyrodactylus and
Dactylogyrus)
 Endoparasitic – digeneans
 Treatment: freshwater bath for 5-30 mins
Infectious Diseases (Parasites)
 Flatworms – Benedenia spp.
Common in marine fish
Attach on eyes and body of fish
Prevention: freshwater bath for 5-30 mins
depending on tolerance of host fish or in strongly
aerated freshwater with 150 ppm H2O2 for 10-30
mins
Infectious Diseases (Parasites)
 Tapeworms (Cestodes)
 Endoparasitic
 Ribbon-like body with hooks or suckers
 Found in fish intestines of rabbit fish, grouper, seabass,
catfish, snakehead and goby
 Avoidance of feeding fish with infected trash fish, elimination
of intermediate host (copepods) drying of pond bottom,
disinfection of culture facilities with lime.
Infectious Diseases (Parasites)

 Round worms (Nematodes)

 Found in stomach and intestines
Infectious Diseases (Parasites)

Crustacean Infections in Fish

Argulus
Freshwater fish lice
Present in tilapia, milkfish, mullet, carp, snakehead
and catfish.
Treatment: Freshwater bath with 5ppm KMnO4 for
3-5 mins.
Infectious Diseases (Parasites)

Caligus
Sea lice
Treatment: 24h freshwater bath; 200-250 ppm
formalin for 1 hour
Treatment with hydrogen peroxide for 30 mins
 Infectious Diseases (Parasites)
 Isopod infestation – external parasitic crustacean
 Infect Tilapia, milkfish, seabass, mullet, rabbitfish, grouper and
goby.
 Attached on body surface, mouth, nasal cavity, opercular cavity and
gills of fish.
 Reduction in opercular movement, loss of appetite, anemia, and
slow growth rate.
Infectious Diseases (Parasites)
 Marine leech infestation
 Common in marine fishes
 Usually present in pectoral
fins of fish
 Control using filters,
manual removal using wet
clothes, disinfection and
complete drying of
facilities.
 Use of 200-250 ppm
formalin bath with strong
aeration for 1 hr.
Infectious Diseases (Parasites-Shrimp)
 Protozoan Infections in
Shrimp
 Caused by Vorticella,
Zoothamnium, and Epistylis
 Affects external surfaces of
shrimps and crabs
 Reddish/brownish gills, loss
of appetite, constantly at the
bottom
 Treatment: 50-100ppm
formalin bath for 30 mins.
 Infectious Diseases (Parasites-Shrimp)

 Cotton shrimp disease

 Caused by monosporeans (i.e. Nosema sp. Ichthyosporidium spp.)
 Cephalotorax, abdomen, or ovaries turn opaque white
 No known treatment
 Infectious Diseases (Bacteria-Fish)

 Columnaris Disease
 Caused by Flavobacterium
columnare
 Tilapia, carp, channel
catfish, goldfish, rohu,
seabass, and grouper
 White spots on head, fin,
body, or gills
 Lesions, hemorrhagic ulcers
also develop
 Treatment: oxolinic acid dip
(1 ppm) for 24 hours
 Infectious Diseases (Bacteria-Fish)
 Edwardsiella Septicaemia
 Caused by Edwardsiella tarda or E.
ictaluri
 Skin lessions along back and sides of
fish
 Loss of pigmentation, lesions,
swelling of eyes, inflammation,
presence of purulent fluids
 Treatment: incorporation of
oxytetracycline in feeds at 55mg/kg
fish for 10 days
 Infectious Diseases (Bacteria-Fish)
 Vibriosis
 Caused by Vibrio alginolyticus, V. anguillarum, V.
vulnificus
 Loss of appetite, darkening of fish
 Hemorrhagic spots and exophthalmia
 Pale gills, large granulating lesion in the muscles.
 Usually occur on warm summer month, high stocking
density, salinity and organic loads are high
 Treatment: incorporation of oxytetracycline in feeds at
77mg/kg fish for 10 days
 Infectious Diseases (Bacteria-Fish)
 Motile Aeromonad Septicemia
 Caused by Aeromonas hydrophila, A. caviae, A. sobria
 Darkening skin coloration and enlargement of abdomen, reddening
of the body, necrosis in fins or tails, shallow ulser
 Sign: scale loss, mouth sores, exopthalmia, eye opacity
 Common in fresh water but also present in sea and brackish water

 Streptococcal infection – caused by Streptococcus spp.

 Seabass, tilapia, rabbitfish and ayu.
 Erratic swimming bahavior, darkening of body color, unilateral or
bilateral exopthalmia, hemorrhages, and lesion.
 Infectious Diseases (Bacteria-Fish)

 Pseudomonas Septicemia (Red Spot Disease)

 Caused by Pseudomonas fluorescens, P. anguilliseptica
 Hemorrhages on skin and around mouth and operculum
 May ooze blood and slime from body surfaces
 Mycobacteriosis (Fish Tuberculosis)
 Caused by mycobacterium
 Skin discoloration and lesions
 Whitish-grey lesions on internal organs
 Infectious Diseases (Bacteria-Fish)
 Rickettsial disease or piscirickettsionsis and Ricketttsia-
like infection
 Caused by Piscirickettsia salmonis
 Tilapia, seabass, grouper, and snake-head
 Lethargic, anorexic, dark skin, pale gills
 Sign: raised scale, hemorrhages, petechia in abdomen and
bilateral exopthalmia.
 Prevention: intra-peritonial injection of broodstock with antibiotics
30-60 days before spawning.
 Infectious Diseases (Bacteria-Fish)
 Nocardiosis – caused by Nocardia sp.
 Common in snakehead and seabass
 Sluggish swimming behavior, external lesions
 Ivory-white to light yellow nodules could be observed on kidney, gills,
liver, spleen, swim bladder and heart.
 Occurs during summer and early autumn.
 Francisella-like infection
 Common in bass and tilapia
 Pale or dark skin, lethargy, erratic swimming.
 Scale loss, skin lesions, erosions and ulcerations.
 January to June when water temp is 20-28°c
 Outbreaks decline when temp is 29-30°c
 Infectious Diseases (Bacteria-Shrimp)
 Filamentous Bacterial Disease
 Caused by Leucothrix sp., Cytophaga sp., Flavobacterium sp.
 Shrimps eggs have a layer of filaments on the surface
 Causes respiratory stress in adult shrimps
 Shell Disease (Black Spot/Black Rot)
 Caused by Vibrio spp., Aeromonas spp., Pseudomonas spp.
 Shrimp have brown/black eroded areas on body, appendages, gills
 Infections start at sites of injuries
 Luminous Bacterial Disease
 Caused by Vibrio harveyi and V. spledidus
 Shrimp become opaque-white and swim to the surface and edges of
the pond
 Infected shrimp exhibit a greenish glow in the dark
 Infectious Diseases (Virus-Fish)

 Viral Nervous Necrosis (VNN)

 Caused by piscine betanodavirus
 Loss of appetite, discoloration, abnormal swimming
behavior
 Spinning Tilapia Syndrome
 Caused by iridovirus
 Tilapia stop eating and swim in a corkscrew pattern
 Infectious Diseases (Virus-Shrimp)
 White Spot Syndrom Virus(WSSV)
 Caused by baculovirus
 Occurrence of white spots on the exoskeleton and epidermis
 Infected shrimp swim at the surface and near pond edges
 Taura Syndrom Virus (TSV)
 Shrimp become anorexic and swim erratically
 Cuticular melanized spots on the body and tail
 Monodon Baculovirus (MBV)
 Caused by baculovirus
 Blue-black coloration, inactivity, retarded growth
 Prevention Protocols
 Maintenance of Good Water Quality
 Proper site selection
 Use of filtration systems (sand, UV, ozone)
 Disinfection of water using chlorine or iodine
 Proper food management
 Adequate storage (cool and dry)
 Screening of raw materials
 Biosecurity
 Elimination of pests and potential carriers (i.e. crabs and other
fish)
 Bird lines
 Foot and tire baths
Biosecurity
 Prevention Protocols
 Green Water Technology
 Produced by culturing saline tolerant tilapia in ponds
 Usually done in a separate reservoir in shrimp culture
systems
 Probiotics
 Live microorganisms which when administered in
adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host
 Immunostimulants
 substances (drugs and nutrients) that stimulate
the immune system by inducing activation or
increasing activity of any of its components