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Posts: 40
| Yesterday a client brought a 43" musky with an 18" girth into the studio after unsuccessfully releasing it back into the Vilas county lake where it was caught. The fish had numerous white specks on the skin where three to four scales were missing creating a circular type sore. Upon skinning the fish I noticed under the skin a hollow cavity between the dorsal fin and the tail which was filled with a white/pink mucus type fluid. Further up on the back there were worm like holes through the meat similar to the pattern carpenter ants make on wood.
Physically the fish seemed healthy (apparent by the length and solid girth), yet the skin and inside were definitely being attacked my something. Does anyone know anything about this? I've seen similar cases in a couple of other fish this year, but nothing this extreme. Take a look at the photos and give me some feedback.
Rick Lax
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| wow, definitely an ill fish.
i have no idea what this might be, but it does illustrate the way that stresses on a fish can combine to be lethal.
sick fish + hot weather/water + being caught = unsuccessful release.
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Posts: 149
| Looks to me like one of two possibilities. First is Esocid Herpesvirus (herpes) which was recently diagnosed in muskies in Wisconsin. Symptoms are bluish-white blotches typically on the back and fins during spring. It also apopears that it could be a severe secondary fungal infection in that fish. Fungal infections are frequently 'caught' by poor release practices which remove the slime layer of the fish and stress it to a point where it is more prone to an infection.
Your pictures don't look like it, but Lymphosarcoma (malignant cancer of the lymphoid tissue) also affects muskies in Wisconsin. Symptoms are tumors that appear as "red sores" made up of blister-like growths or pinkish-white lesions. These large sores are usually found on the sides, fins, and head of affected fish.
Muskellunge in Wisconsin are also victims of several protozoan, bacterial, and viral infections and sometimes suffer from secondary fungus infections. They have also been found in Wisconsin infested with fluke grubs (Neascus), tapeworm (Proteocepahlus) and horny-headed worms (Acanthocephala). |
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Posts: 786
Location: Minnesota | Foudn this today too. Looks like this one attacks the mucks and causes Hemorrhaging.
http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/07/07/04/what_you_need_to_know_a...
Anyone heard of this VHS virus? |
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| I think muskycpr hit the nail on the head. Its skin condition appears to be fungal and could have been brought about by the underlying disease inside the fish. Whatever caused the damage you observed in the muscle tissue, it likely weakened the fish and left it prone to a fungal infection. The pink discharge you noted is probably puss from the infection. Send the pics down to Woodruff and let the guys at the hatchery eyeball them. |
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