Morphological identification of fungus isolated from silver carp, Hypophthalmichthysmolitrix from three locations of Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

-Infections caused by fungi have increased in recent years in freshwater fish. The present study was aimed to isolate the fungal genera in a commercial fish, silver carp, Hypophthalmichthysmolitrix reared in some earthern ponds in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Based on the morphological analysis eleven fungal genera were isolated and identified. These fungal species were; Aspergillus sp., Alternaria sp., Curvularia sp., Chaetomium sp., Fusarium sp., Mucor sp., Neurospor sp., Pencillium sp., Rhizopus sp., Simplicillium sp. and Trichoderma sp. Four new genera Curvularia sp., Chaetomium sp. Simplicillium sp. and Trichoderma sp. first time isolated from silver carp. The infected fish showed errored scales, skin darking, swollen eyes, erythema on skin, eyes, operculum and near anus and granuloma on anal fin. The infectivity level on different organs of fish was changeable such as: Fins showed the highest infection in all three fish sampling locations i.e., 38.36%, 40.56%, 42.29% infection from location 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Least infected organ was intestine. Silver carp showed fungal infection occurred through improper environment having unhygienic feed. Fungal infection in silver carp decreases the nutritional value of fish flesh. Hence this situation suggested that silver carp is not good for human health if reared in contamination water