FISH HEALTH

w w w. in fo f i sh .o rg INFOFISH International 6/2012 41

Dr Gerald Bassleer, a fish pathobiologist, hasworked since 1977 in the ornamental fish industry.He has a wholesale facility in Belgium and works asa consultant for exporters, importers, wholesalersand pet shops. He has helped many businesses tosurvive by cutting down losses through implementinggood protocols for staff and equipment. With 35years of experience and speaking 5 languages, heis an international authority on fish healthmanagement.

Most people in the industry are familiar with hiscomprehensive book The New Illustrated Guide toFish Diseases (containing 1 000 photographs) thatis sold worldwide in six languages. His latest book,The Practical Guide to Fish Diseases, has beenpublished in 2011 in eight languages, and will soonalso be published in Chinese and Arabic. He is alsothe producer of Dr Bassleer Biofish Food withinnovative nutraceuticals that help to care for thefish. For more details, please visit:www.bassleer.com.

In my daily work as a fish doctor, I oftenreceive requests for immediate help to curefish which exhibit white patches!For each person, a “white patch” has a

different meaning because we all look withdifferent eyes, with different observations and

White patches are a symptom, not the disease- find the real cause or agent!

interpretations of the world around us. Thesame problem is faced in our daily work withdiseased fish. Making an observation with our“naked eye” can mislead us!

For example, many people tell me that “theirfish are dying of fungus”. For them, a whitepatch is caused by a fungus! Or some say

“The body of my fish hasnecrosis, so it must be abacterial infection!” For somemore examples, see below.(a) The goldfish with whitish,slimy appearance (Fig 1). Thisis caused by a sudden drop ofpH due to lack of water change!A simple water test could havetold us that the cure is a goodwater change and a check of thefiltration system!(b) The head of theJulidochromis cichlid has awhitish lesion (Fig 2). A checkwith the microscope can tell usthat it is real fungus(Saprolegnia) that appearedafter injury during transport(physical stress).(c) Betta splendens femaleor Xiphophorus helleri withwhite necrotic patches (Fig3&4). This is a very commonproblem in tropical ornamentalfish! A quick check with themicroscope can help us detectcolonies of Columnaris bacteria(Fig 5&6) that can only be curedwith a good antibiotic.(d) The neon tetra,Paracheirodon innesi, do oftenexhibit white patches, but theseare caused by two distinctivediseases. The Real NeonDisease (Fig 7 & 8) is causedby Sporozoa (Plistophora)parasites in the muscular tissue(Fig 9) (there is no cure for thisbut the breeder should beinformed that he must take

necessary preventiveactions). The so-called False NeonDisease (Fig 10) is caused by theColumnaris bacteria and can be cured ifan appropriate antibiotic (and waterchange) is applied in good time (within thefirst hour and day of the outbreak).

(e) A guppy with a white head (and mouth)(Fig 11). This looks like a bacterial infection(Columnaris) but a microscopic checkreveals that the real cause is the parasiteTetrahymena (Fig 12) that damages theskin and causes necrotic tissue.

In conclusion, as explained in our previousarticles, fish diseases are not made for humaneyes. In our daily work with fish, we all hope todetect any diseased fish in our fish tanks oraquariums early. We see certain signs(symptoms) of fish that appear to be sufferingfrom a “disease” but we cannot see what isreally going on unless we do a water test or aquick microscopic observation to determine thecause. Many people in the industry are notaware of the importance of the water qualitycheck and the training that is needed for theuse of a microscope. It only requires an 8-12hr short course.

Dr GeraldBassleer

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