Curative and preventive measures for edema in juvenile Japanese char Salvelinus leucomaenis

Abstract

Mortality associated with edema occurred in juvenile Japanese char Salvelinus leucomaenis. Scanning electron microscopy of gill surfaces and histological observations of the gills and kidneys of diseased juveniles indicated that the present pathological changes of the edema disease in juvenile Japanese char (EJJC) were similar to those of the previous study. We conducted three experiments to investigate curative and preventive measures for EJJC: a bath treatment with 1.0% salt water for a curative effect in the early stage of the disease, supplementation of ascorbic acid to the commercial diet (10,000 mg/kg diet) for prevention of the disease, and the supplementation of ascorbic acid along with increased water flow to improve the water quality also for the disease prevention. Results confirmed the curative effect of a 1.0% salt water bath treatment on the early stage of an EJJC outbreak, and the preventive effect on the dietary supplement of ascorbic acid with increasing water quantity before an outbreak. © 2012 The Japanese Society of Fish Pathology.