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Healthy Fish (healthy + fish)
Selected AbstractsAntarctic fish can survive prolonged exposure to elevated temperaturesJOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 7 2008E. Robinson The Antarctic notothenioid Pagothenia borchgrevinki was collected from the stenothermal waters of McMurdo Sound in the summers of 2004, 2005 and 2006. Acclimation ability at 4° C was tested in healthy P. borchgrevinki and in individuals infected with x-cell gill disease. All healthy fish successfully acclimated to 4° C, establishing compensatory changes in resting oxygen consumption rate (Rrest) and critical swimming speed (Ucrit) during a 1 month acclimation period, which were maintained during a longer, 6 month acclimation period. In contrast, individuals infected with x-cell disease were unable to acclimate to 4° C, demonstrating significantly reduced survival rates compared with healthy individuals at 4° C. Measurements of Rrest suggest that limitations in the ability of x-cell fish to uptake oxygen from the external milieu may have a negative effect on their survival at 4° C. [source] A study of gross, histological and blood biochemical changes in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), with rainbow trout gastroenteritis (RTGE)JOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES, Issue 4 2010J Del-Pozo Abstract The mechanisms behind the pathogenesis of rainbow trout gastroenteritis (RTGE) are still unknown. This study examined the macroscopic and microscopic changes in trout with RTGE (RTGE+), as well as the blood chemistry. A total of 464 rainbow trout were sampled from 11 sites in the UK, comprising 152 RTGE+ fish and 330 random, apparently healthy fish. A case definition for RTGE was assessed by the analysis of its agreement with three laboratory tests: histopathology, packed cell volume and kidney bacteriology. Cluster analysis indicated the presence of three distinct presentations within the population of RTGE+ fish. Cluster A included gross signs associated with moribund RTGE+ fish, and clusters B and C identified gross signs consistent with concurrent diseases, notably furunculosis, enteric redmouth and proliferative kidney disease. The information gained was used to select RTGE+ fish without concurrent disease for the analysis of RTGE pathogenesis with blood biochemistry. This analysis revealed a severe osmotic imbalance and a reduced albumin/globulin ratio as indicatives of selective loss of albumin. These findings are compatible with a protein losing enteropathy. [source] Surveillance of health status on eight marine rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), farms in Denmark in 2006JOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES, Issue 9 2008K Pedersen Abstract The health status of eight marine rainbow trout farms was followed from mid-June to mid-September 2006 by sampling both dead and healthy fish approximately every 2 weeks for bacteriological and virological investigation. No fish pathogenic viruses were detected, but all farms experienced disease and mortality as a result of various bacterial infections. Yersinia ruckeri was found on four and Renibacterium salmoninarum on five of the farms, but only during the first part of the surveillance period. This indicates that the fish carried the infection from fresh water, and cleared the infection in salt water. Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida caused mortality on five farms, but persisted throughout the sampling period. Although A. salmonicida was probably carried from fresh water, the fish were not able to clear the infection in the sea. Vibrio anguillarum caused mortality on six of the farms throughout the sampling period, O1 being the dominant serovar, and Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae was found on seven farms as a cause of disease. During the period of highest water temperatures Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus were detected in dead fish in five and two farms, respectively, although their significance as causative pathogens is questionable. Vibrio vulnificus has not previously been found in rainbow trout in Denmark. Both mortality and number of antimicrobial treatments during the period were considerably higher in unvaccinated compared with vaccinated fish. Resistance to commonly used antimicrobials was low or absent. [source] Development and physiology of gastric dilation air sacculitis in Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum)JOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES, Issue 8 2007L G Forgan Abstract The syndrome known as gastric dilation air sacculitis (GDAS) has previously been shown to affect Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, in seawater (SW) aquaculture. Feed and osmoregulatory stress have been implicated as potential epidemiological co-factors. The development and physiology of GDAS was investigated in SW and freshwater (FW) adapted smolts. Diet A (low-cohesion pellets) and diet B (high-cohesion pellets) were fed to both FW- and SW-adapted fish. GDAS was induced only in the SW trial on feeding diet A. Stimulated gastro-intestinal (GI) smooth muscle contractility, and fluid transport by the pyloric caeca were different in GDAS-affected fish, which also showed osmoregulatory dysfunction. Cardiac stomach (CS) smooth muscle contractility in response to acetylcholine and potassium chloride (KCl) was significantly reduced in fish fed diet A relative to controls from weeks 3,5. In contrast, maximal pyloric sphincter (PS) circular smooth muscle contraction in response to KCl was significantly elevated in fish fed diet A in weeks 4 and 5. Serum osmolality was elevated in GDAS-affected fish from week 2 of the SW trial. Fluid transport from the mucosal to serosal surface of isolated pyloric caeca was significantly reduced in weeks 3, 4 and 5 in SW fish fed diet A. Gastric evacuation from the stomach of healthy fish was shown to be significantly different when diets of low- and high-cohesion were fed. The results are consistent with the intestinal brake playing a role in the development of the disease. [source] Distribution of mycobacteria in clinically healthy ornamental fish and their aquarium environmentJOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES, Issue 7 2006V Beran Abstract Some mycobacterial species (particularly Mycobacterium marinum) found in aquarium environments may cause chronic diseases in fish and cutaneous infections in humans, the so-called ,fish tank granuloma'. The presence and distribution of mycobacterial species in clinically healthy aquarium fish and their environment has not been adequately explored. The present study analysed the occurrence of mycobacteria in a decorative aquarium (Brno, South Moravia) and in five aquaria of a professional fish breeder (Bohumin, North Moravia). After Ziehl,Neelsen staining, acid-fast rods (AFR) were observed in six (14.3%) and mycobacteria were detected by culture in 18 (42.9%) of 42 tissue samples from 19 fish. Sixty-five samples of the aqueous environment from all six aquaria were examined; AFR were found in 16 (24.6%) and mycobacteria were detected by culture in 49 (75.4%) samples. Forty-one (70.7%) of 58 selected mycobacterial isolates were identified biochemically as follows: M. fortuitum, M. flavescens, M. chelonae, M. gordonae, M. terrae, M. triviale, M. diernhoferi, M. celatum, M. kansasii and M. intracellulare. The clinically important species for humans and fish, M. marinum, was not detected. Mycobacterium kansasii was isolated from one sample of the aquarium environment from North Moravia, which is a region of the Czech Republic with endemic incidence of M. kansasii in water. The incidence of other conditionally pathogenic mycobacterial species in healthy fish and in all investigated constituents of the aquarium environment including snails and crustaceans used for fish feeding, was quite high. Accordingly, mycobacterial species from aquarium environments may serve as a possible source of infection for both aquarium fish and immunodeficient fish handlers. [source] Effects of the wood extractive betulinol and 17, -oestradiol on reproduction in zebrafish, Danio rerio (Hamilton) , complications due to a bacterial infectionJOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES, Issue 5 2004I Christianson-Heiska Abstract Zebrafish were exposed to the wood extractive betulinol (5 ,g L,1) and to 17, -oestradiol (E2, 0.27 ,g L,1) for 8 weeks in an attempt to study the possible endocrine-disrupting activity of betulinol. Females exposed to betulinol showed increased spawning intensity, while males exposed to betulinol and E2 had increased incidences of structural alterations in the testes. However, histological examination of the fish revealed that they were infected by acid-fast bacteria suspected to be Mycobacterium sp. despite a careful examination of their health state prior to the onset of the experiment. Fish exposed to betulinol and E2 showed more serious consequences of the bacterial infection than control fish indicating that the test chemicals had weakened the immune defence of the fish. When the exposure was repeated with healthy fish, an increase in the proportion of spermatogonia was seen in the testes of betulinol-treated males. A similar alteration, although not statistically significant, was also seen in the first experiment. However, no increase in the incidences of structural alterations in the testes was seen in betulinol- and E2-treated fish in the second experiment. Our study indicates that betulinol might have an endocrine-disrupting effect in zebrafish, but the increase in incidences of structural alterations in the testes might have been caused by a synergistic action between the test compounds and the bacterial infection. Our study stresses the importance of carefully checking the health of experimental fish, not only prior to the onset of an experiment but also upon termination of the experiment, in order to avoid misinterpretation of the results. [source] Comparative Cellular Morphology Suggesting the Existence of Resident Dendritic Cells Within Immune Organs of SalmonidsTHE ANATOMICAL RECORD : ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Jan Lovy Abstract This report is the first morphological description of cells that resemble dendritic cells, which appear to form resident populations within the spleen and anterior kidney of fish. Based on examination of three salmonid species, including, rainbow trout, brook trout, and Atlantic salmon, the cells were most abundant in the spleen, although they were always present in the anterior kidney. The cells appeared diffusely distributed, often near blood vessels of the spleen and kidney of healthy fish and within the epithelium, connective tissue, and blood vessels of rainbow trout gills with experimentally induced microsoporidial gill disease. The dendritic-like cells in this study contained granules that resemble Birbeck granules, which are considered to be morphological markers of Langerhans cells in mammals. The cells were approximately 6 ,m in diameter and contained Birbeck-like (BL) granules localized near centrioles. Although the dendritic-like cells in the three salmonid species shared many similarities, morphological differences were found in the fine structure of the rod portion of the BL granules. Rainbow trout BL granules contained amorphous material, while the other salmonid species contained particulate material arranged in a square-lattice arrangement. The BL granules in the cells of Atlantic salmon had a narrow diameter and contained four layers of particulate material when sectioned longitudinally; two layers enveloped by the granule membrane and two central layers making up a central lamella, which is common in mammalian Birbeck granules. Anat Rec, 291:456,462, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] A dietary energy level of 14.6 MJ kg,1 and protein-to-energy ratio of 20.2 g MJ,1 results in best growth performance and nutrient accretion in silver barb Puntius gonionotus fingerlingsAQUACULTURE NUTRITION, Issue 6 2009K.N. MOHANTA Abstract Five iso-nitrogenous (300 g protein kg,1 diet) and iso-lipidic (80 g kg,1 diet) semi-purified experimental diets with variable energy levels of 10.5 (D-1), 12.5 (D-2), 14.6 (D-3), 16.7 (D-4) and 18.8 (D-5) MJ kg,1 diets were fed to Puntius gonionotus fingerlings (average weight 1.79 ± 0.02 g) in triplicate groups (15 healthy fishes per replicate) for a period of 90 days to assess the optimum dietary energy level and protein-to-energy ratio (P/E). Fifteen flow-through cement tanks of 100 L capacity with a flow rate of 0.5 L min,1 were used for rearing the fish. Maximum specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, protein productive value, RNA : DNA ratio, whole body protein content, digestive enzyme activity and minimum feed conversion ratio was found in fish-fed diet D-3 with 14.6 MJ kg,1 energy level. There were no improvements in all these parameters with the further rise in dietary energy level. Hence, it may be concluded that the optimum dietary gross energy level for maximum growth and nutrient utilization of silver barb is 14.6 MJ kg,1 diet with a resultant P/E ratio of 20.2 g protein MJ,1 diet, when the dietary protein and lipid are maintained at optimum requirement levels of 300 and 80 g kg,1 diet, respectively, for this species. [source] |