Emerging Dreadful Ulcer Disease in Threatened Murrel, Channa aurantimaculata

Like other captive animals, aquarium fish are vulnerable to a range of diseases. Among the bacterial pathogens, Aeromonas hydrophila act as secondary infectious agent and causes diseases under stress. The present study is attempted to evaluate the microbiological and haematological changes in infected ornamental fish Channa - C. aurantimaculata collected from the wild. The highest microbial load of 7.4±0.8×107 cfu g-1 was observed in skin whereas the lowest load of 1.2±0.7×102 cfu g-1 was found in the heart. From the microbial investigation, A. hydrophila has been isolated from different organs indicating its predominant presence. Considering the haematological indices, increased levels of WBC (5.5±0.3, 103/ml), MCV (172.1±0.9, fl), Lymphocytes (62.3±0.5, %) were observed in the infected fish compared to control fish imparting the involvement of non-specific immune response. Article Citation: Kavitha K, Haniffa MA, Abdul Kader Mydeen KP and Jeya Sheela P. Emerging Dreadful Ulcer Disease in Threatened Murrel, Channa aurantimaculata. Journal of Research in Animal Sciences (2014) 2(1): 087-093. Full Text: http://janimalsciences.com/documents/AS0026.pdf