Cryptocaryon

Cryptocaryon disease in the fish is also called the Marine white spot is caused by the ciliated protozoan parasite. This disease infects the fishes that are found in salt water. This disease spreads if the quality of water is not good. If the pH level of the water is reduced then it might lead to the Cryptocaryon outbreak.

One of the signs of Cryptocaryon infection is lethargy in the fish and it might also rub itself against all the objects found in the aquarium. This type of behavior is obvious if there is Cryptocaryon infection. You can notice white spots on the body and fins. The white spot first appears in the pectoral fins and then spread to the other parts. The gill is one part that has many of these organisms. If you check the gill you can find it. The white spot that you notice will be of the size up to 2 mm. once you notice these white spots you have to start the treatment otherwise it will spread to the entire body and it might also lead to hemorrhage later. During the advanced stages of this infection the eyes of the fishes would be clouded which might cause blindness. In the advanced stages of this infection it will pave the way for other diseases like fungal infections which adds to the already existing problem. This will lead you to take treatment for the secondary infections too. Hence it is better to start the treatment during the initial stages itself once you spot the white spots in the body.

Since Cryptocaryon is a parasite it will need a host for its development. During the initial stage the Cryptocaryon will be free swimming and it will try to find a host for its development. Once it finds a host it will penetrate the skin of the host i.e. the fish. The free swimming stage of Cryptocaryon is called tomite and the parasitic stage is called Trophont. It feeds on the tissues of the fish and grows. The size of the parasite double every single day and it is visible to the naked eye after two days. After about 4 days a cyst is formed which will give rise to another 100 to 300 tomites. It is only about 5 to 10 percent of the tomites succeeds in finding another host for its development. Every week you can find the population of Cryptocaryon increases ten times. Due to this rapid increase the effect of the infection will also increase dramatically.

Acting at the earlier stage of detection of this parasite will be helpful in eradicating this infection altogether. Dangerous levels of the infections are reached within 12 days of the infection. So it is better to start the treatment at the earlier stage itself to remove those infections.

In the treatment of Cryptocaryon copper based mediations are useful. The dosage of copper used should be appropriate so that it does not affect the fish. Copper test kits are available for treatment. The treatment using copper should be done for several times daily. Even after removal of the parasite the treatment has to be continued for about a week so that you remove all the latent tomonts too. This is to ensure that the fish is not affected again. There are times when you need to separate the fish affected from the aquarium and treat it in a separate aquarium. There is a product called No-Ich which can be used in the treatment of Cryptocaryon. After the treatment it is harmless to other invertebrates in the aquarium. One of the to the methods to give treatment for Cryptocaryon is to bath the fish in fresh water. Fresh water bath will be tolerated by the fish for about half an hour only. However you have to maintain the pH of this water too. This method of treatment is successful to some extent. When you find the fish stressed you can change it to marine water. In some cases of treatment it is very successful in some cases it is not that much successful. This shows that there are 2 to 3 variants of the parasites.