Susceptibility of three strains of blue catfish to parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis.

What is it about?

Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ich) is one of the most prevalent protozoan parasites of freshwater fish and causes heavy economic losses in aquaculture. Genetic improvement of disease resistance through selective breeding could be an alternative way to minimize the loss due to this parasite. Two trials were conducted using both cohabitation and separate-tank methods to compare the susceptibility of 3 strains of blue catfish to Ich, including the infection level and fish mortality.

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Why is it important?

The results show that there are differences among strains of blue catfish for susceptibility to parasite Ich. These differences will be useful in development of improved catfish germplasm for commercial aquaculture and the breeding program of catfish hybrids.