Prof 323 2ND Sem Module 2 1
Prof 323 2ND Sem Module 2 1
Prof 323 2ND Sem Module 2 1
SEMESTER LO1
Dete
rmine and compute mortality in aquaculture facilities
LO 2 Determine the causes of Mortality
1.2 Causes of Fish Mortality
Definition of Terms:
Algal bloom - growth of algae covering the water or excessive growth of algae on or near the surface of
water.
Cannibalism - an act of being cannibalistic. An animal that eats the flesh of other animals of the same
species.
Competition - The struggle between organisms of the same or different species for limited resources
such as food, space and light.
Depletion - to use up or reduce something such as supplies, resources, or energy.
Disease - any deviation from the normal state of the body of fish.
Drought - A long period of extremely dry weather when there is not for enough rain for the successful
growing of crops or the replenishment of water supply.
Mortality - the number of deaths that occurs at a specific time, in a specific group or from specific causes.
Predation - preying of one specie on another. The relationship between two groups of animals in which
one specie hunts, kills, and eats the other.
Severe - extremely bad or dangerous.
Starvation - lack of food; the state of not having enough food, or loosing strength or dying because of
lack of food.
Stress - Strain felt by species, mental, emotional or physical strain caused by example: anxiety or over
crowding.
Suffocation - condition due to lack of air.
Toxic - involving something poisonous, containing a poison.
Fish mortality
is a term widely used in fishery science that denotes the loss of fish from a stock through death.
The term is also commonly used in British English as a synonym for fish kill. Fish die as a result of a
variety of natural and unnatural causes.
Fish mortality can be divided into two types:
Natural mortality: the removal of fish from the stock due to causes not associated with fishing. Such
causes can include starvation, body injury, stress, suffocation, disease parasites, competition,
cannibalism, old age, predation, pollution, toxic algae, severe weather, or any other natural factor that
causes the death of fish.
Fishing mortality: the removal of fish from the stock due to fishing activities using any fishing gear.
MR = Nom÷SD×100
Where ;
MR = Mortality rate
Nom = Number of collected mortality
SD = Stocking Density
Learning Objectives:
1. Enumerate the common causes of mortality
2. Identify the causes of mortality
3. Observe precautionary measures
Water flowing. Adding and draining water in the pond will allow the water to move away from the
infected compartment. The current that will be produced by the movement of the water will also help
dissolve oxygen from the air.
A fish farmer should be aware of the following factors which commonly cause fish diseases:
1. Density of Stocking. Heavily stock- ponds are prone to fish diseases and the degree of contamination
and communicability is high. Care must be taken not to subject the fish to such condition. Overcrowding
will lessen their resistance and will increase their susceptibility to the attack of various infectious
organisms such as bacteria, protozoa, fungi and viruses.
2. Poor farming Conditions. The practice of fish farming is said to be poor when water is not changed.
What is important is the basic water quality requirement of the area provided. Stagnant water tends to
weaken the resistance of fish. Insufficient food does not provide the nutrients that will be converted to gain
in fish weight. Neglected ponds do not provide a conducive environment for growth. Instead, they
encourage infectious organisms to thrive in the water and attack the fishes. Frequent changing of fresh,
clean, and well-oxygenated water is desired to reduce the occurrence of fish diseases.
3. Quality of Fish Stock/Genetic Disorders These are diseases presumed to be genetic in origin.
Heredity plays a vital role in the success or failure of fish farming activities. When the parents of the fish
stock to be grown in the pond are inferior in quality and already suffering from diseases, their
characteristics may be transferred or passed on to their offsprings by heredity. To overcome this problem,
stocking materials should be secured from reliable sources such as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources(BFAR) or other private institutions of proven reputation.
4. Co-existing Organisms/Presence of parasites. Acting as causative agents of diseases, the major
known agents to cause fish diseases are virus, bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and trematodes.Parasitic
organisms are also common causes of mortality and loss in the fishponds.
Zero water exchange is designed to prevent the entry of disease causing/carrying organism. The
wastes produced are by heterotrophic bacteria by balancing the Nitrogen-Carbon ratio. The waste
colonized by bacteria (termed bioflac) can also serve as food for the fish-shrimps. This technology is also
designed to minimized ammonia as the bacteria will utilize them.
Fish Parasites
Anchor worms
PROF ED 323: TEACHING COMMON COMPETENCIES IN FISHERIES AND AGRICULTURE
EVA MAE O. PAMAT
Chitodonella
Costia
Dactylogerous
Digenetis trematodes
Fish Lice
Gyrodactylous
Ichthyopthirius multifillis
Monogenetis Trematodes
Nematodes
Parasitic copepods
Protozoans
Scyphidis
Spistylin
Tetrahymena pyriformis
Ponds not properly prepared before stocking may harbor numerous kinds of parasitic organisms
which will eventually attack and weaken the fish. This will cause secondary fish infection. Ponds, therefore,
should be prepared properly before stocking.
5. Nutritional Disorder/Nutritional Diseases. This is caused by feeding error, Examples are hepatoma
and lipoid hepatic degeneration. Like animals and human beings, fish also suffer from diseases caused by
nutritional deficiency. Properly formulated feeds could greatly solve the nutrient deficiency problem in fish.
The identified nutrients lacking in their diet should be incorporated at once in dilutions to prevent
nutritional diseases. Natural food are still the best food as they contain all the necessary nutrients needed
by the fish. Production of natural food should also be recommended.
6. Stress which weakens their resistance. Difference in water salinity, pond pH and temperature as well
as long travel of the stocking materials expose the fish to considerable degree of stress. Care should be
taken to acclimatize the fish to its new environment before releasing them to the pond.
7. Wounds and minor injuries. Injured fishes such as those with ruptured skins, removed scales, and
minor injuries or wound are prone to secondary infection because the damaged parts serve as entry
points of harmful organisms. The fishpond caretaker must be knowledgeable enough to detect the various
signs of injury and symptoms of a disease before it worsens into epidemic proportions.
A. Bacterial Diseases
Infectious Abdominal Dropsy
Symptoms:
a. Swelling of the belly
b. Fish starts jumping
c. Bloody areas on the body
d. Fins are partially destroyed
Treatment:
Antibiotics mixed in water or in food, treatment against the bacteria.
Furunculosis
Symptoms:
a. Bloody boils of various sizes on the body of the fish
b. Small lumps under the skin
Treatment:
Furunculosis can be treated with antibiotics mixed with the food.
B. Viral Diseases
Viral hemorrhagic septicemia
Symptoms:
a. exopthalmus (swelling of the eyes)
b. Pale gills
c. Anus protrudes
d. Sores on the skin
Treatment:
At present, there is no effective treatment yet to this disease. It is probably possible to obtain certain
measures of immunity.
C. Fungal Disease
Saprolegnia infection
Symtoms
PROF ED 323: TEACHING COMMON COMPETENCIES IN FISHERIES AND AGRICULTURE
EVA MAE O. PAMAT
Light Brown patches on skin, fins, eyes mouth or gills.
Treatment:
Potassium permanganate bath 1g. per 100 liters of water for 60-90 minutes
Salt bath 25 g. per liter of water for 10 minutes.
Gill rot
Symptoms:
a. Fish have pale gills
Treatment:
A copper sulfate bath 1 g in
10 liters of water for 10 to 30
minutes will kill the parasite.
Whirling disease
Symptoms:
Fish whirl round and round then
fall to the bottom.
Fish develop black tails.
Malformation such as deformation
of the spine, shortening of the jaws and gill
cover, bumps, and small cavities appear in the heads.
Treatment:
Step must be taken to avoid infection, for contaminated fish cannot be cured. Once infected, it is
difficult to get rid of the disease
Ichthyopthiriasis
Symptoms:
a. Small White spots are noticeable on the skin.
b. Fish rub themselves against the bottom to get
rid of the parasite.
Treatment:
Salt baths 30 gm per liter of water.
Fish should be rinsed immediately with clean water.
Symptoms:
Bloody spots are found
outside the body of the fish
Treatment:
Lysol solution1 ml of Lysol for 5 liters of water for 5-15 seconds.
Ligulosi
Symptoms:
Intestine of infected fish
becomes partially destroyed.
Treatment:
In fish culture, it is possible to prevent the disease by eliminating waterfowls.
Gill Flukes
Symptoms:
The gills swell and turn gray at the edges.
Symptoms:
a. Red blotches on appear skin,
b. Fish show sign of nervousness.
Treatment: FISH LOUSE
1 gram in 1 liter of potassium permanganate for 40 seconds
Fish louse
G. Environmental Diseases
Too alkaline and too acidic water .
Symptoms :
a. Fish secretes a lot of mucous.
b. Gills turn brownish.
Treatment:
PROF ED 323: TEACHING COMMON COMPETENCIES IN FISHERIES AND AGRICULTURE
EVA MAE O. PAMAT
Broadcast 200 grams of calcium carbonate (CaC03) per hectare if the pond water is acidic.
Application of acidic fertilizer 50 kg/hectare if water is highly alkaline.
Temperature variation
Monitor and maintain the optimum desirable temperature of water.
Lack of oxygen
Symptoms:
a. Fish dying from suffocation have wide-open mouth.
b. Raised gill cover and widely separated gill
H. Nutritional Diseases
Lipoid hepatic degeneration
Symptom:
Yellow-brown color of the liver
Preventive measures:
a. Food distributed must be in good condition
b. Food should be rich in vitamins.
c. Food should not be too fatty or too salty.
Enteritis
Symptoms:
a. Fish show red, congested, and severely inflamed intestines.
Preventive measures:
a. Food distributed must be in good condition.
b. Food should be rich in vitamins.
c. Food should not be too fatty or too salty.
Hepatoma
Symptom:
a. External hard tumor behind the pectoral fin
TREATMENT
There are few practical methods for treating diseased or parasitized fish in natural pond, lake, or
stream waters. Sick fish can be effectively treated in hatcheries and aquariums under controlled
conditions. However, in natural waters, it is almost impossible to eradicate a disease or parasite without
draining, drying, and disinfecting the pond bottom soil and destroying all the fish. Therefore, pond owners
should make every attempt to prevent fish diseases and parasites from becoming a problem by:
stocking only healthy fish from disease-free commercial hatchery stocks.
excluding all wild fish from the pond.
preventing the transfer of fish from other ponds, lakes, or streams.
following the stocking recommendations to avoid overcrowding.
preventing fertilizer, animal waste, or pesticide runoff into ponds
avoiding overfeeding of pond fish.
Toxin
Agricultural runoff, sewage, surface runoff, chemical spills, and hazardous waste spills can all
potentially lead to water toxicity and fish kill. Some algae species also produce toxins. These include
Aphanizomenon Anabaena and Microcystis. Natural Instances of toxic condition can occur, especially in
poorly buffered water. Aluminium compound can cause complete fish kills.
PROF ED 323: TEACHING COMMON COMPETENCIES IN FISHERIES AND AGRICULTURE
EVA MAE O. PAMAT
Human- induced fish kills are unusual, but occasionally a spilled substance causes direct toxicity or
a shift of the water temperature or pH that can lead to fish kill. It is often difficult or impossible to
determine whether a potential toxin is the direct cause of fish kill but with the help of the expert and proper
sampling of the affected stock, fish farmers have an idea of what really causes fish kill.
Cyanide is a particular toxic compound that has been used to poach fish. Incyanide poisoning, the
gills turn distinctive cherry red. Chlorine introduced as alkaline hypochlorite solution is also extremely toxic
leaving pale mucilaginous gills and an overproduction of mucilage across the whole body. Lime produces
similar symptoms but is also often associated with milk eyes.
Biological decay
Just as an algae bloom can lead to oxygen depletion, introduction of a large amount of decaying
biological material in pond leads to oxygen depletion as microorganisms use available oxygen in the
process of breaking down organic matter.
Spawning Fatalities
Some species of fish exhibit mass simultaneous mortality as part of their natural life cycle. Fish kill
due to spawning fatalities can occur when fish are exhausted from spawning activities such as courtship,
nest building, and the release of eggs or milt(sperm). Fish generally weaken after spawning and are less
resilient than usual to smaller changes in the environment The best example is the Atlantic salmon where
many of the females routinely die immediately after spawning.
Water temperature
A fish kill can occur with rapid fluctuations in temperature or sustained high temperatures.
Generally, cooler water has the potential to hold more oxygen, so a period of sustained high temperatures
can lead to decreased dissolved oxygen in a body of water. A short period of hot weather can increase
temperatures in the surface layer of water as the warmer water tends to stay near the surface and be
further heated by the air. In this case, the top warmer layer may have more oxygen than the lower cooler
layers because it has constant access to atmospheric oxygen. If a heavy wind or cold rain then occurs, it
PROF ED 323: TEACHING COMMON COMPETENCIES IN FISHERIES AND AGRICULTURE
EVA MAE O. PAMAT
probably would help overturn water where accumulated toxin at the bottom would resurface. If the volume
of low oxygen water is much greater than the volume in the warm surface layer, this mixing can reduce
oxygen levels throughout the water column and lead to fish kill.
Underwater explosions
Underwater explosions can lead to fish kill and fish with swim bladders are more susceptible.
Sometimes underwater explosions are used on purpose to induce fish kills, a generally illegal practice
known as blast fishing. Underwater explosions may be accidental or planned such as for construction,
siesmic testing, mining or blast testing of structures under water. In many places, an assessment of
potential effects of underwater explosions on marine life must be completed and preventive measures
taken before blasting.
Harmful insects, Examples of harmful insects are water beetles, water bugs, dragonflies, and larvae of
other insects.
1. Voracious fish. Fish predators such as dalag, bid-bid, apahap, and many other harmful fishes should be
prevented from entering the pond. Great loss and damages in the stock may be attributed to these
predators.
2. Harmful amphibians. The eggs of frogs and other harmful amphibians must be destroyed at once when
discovered inside the pond. The larvae will not only compete for food and space but also for dissolved
oxygen in the water. Amphibians also endanger the newly-stocked fish from direct feeding by the adult
animals.
3. Harmful birds. The king fisher, tagak and other numerous other predatory birds are considered harmful.
They cause losses in the fish farm because they feed on fish.
4. Reptiles. Water snakes and lizards also do harm in considerable proportion to the fish farming industry
Extra care should be employed to protect the fish stock from these predatory reptiles. Lately, turtles have
become pest. Careful pond preparation could eliminate the problem brought about by water snakes as
clear surroundings will inhibit the entry of lizards into the pond.
5. Mammals. The best means of controlling the entry of mammals such as dogs inside the fishpond area
is by fencing this area or setting some sort of trap for other predatory mammals.
9. Control Pollution.
10. Prevent by chemical prophylaxis. Treatment of fish should be based on accurate diagnosis of the
disease.
11. Water source. Check the water. pH, pollution level, salinity, suspended solids, dissolved oxygen,
temperature, and others.
12. Use probiotics/bioremediation