Water-borne disease is a huge burden to society and economy, affecting aquaculture and ornamental fish farming as well as human health. Aquaculture alone suffers c. $10B in annual losses from diseases . A ciliated protozoan, lchthyophthirius multifiliis (Ich), causing “white spot disease” is one of the most devastating and commercially important parasites in aquaculture worldwide. Existing remedies to counter Ich and other parasites in aquaculture are typically long-established or even historical and often hazardous, toxic, and difficult to use. Sundew has developed a new natural solution, called Biokos, with a considerable efficacy to control Ich and other water-borne diseases . Biokos is non-toxic to fish, environmentally friendly , and it is manufactured by simple fermentation . Here we present an efficacy study of Biokos on Ich parasite in an ornamental fish model.
A n in vivo experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Biokos against Ich infection in a common goldfish (Carassius auratus ) model. Fish were divided to three groups;
The latter received Biokos every 48 hours . Goldfish in infection control reached 100% mortality within 14 days (Figure 1 ) with a significant increase in number of Ich trophonts on the body surface (Table 1), while all treated fish survived and no Ich trophonts were observed on the skin, fins, and gills after 14 days, i.e. 7 dosing of Biokos . Moreover, no behavioral changes (in terms of breathing and swimming patterns, and appetite) was recorded in treated group.
Th ese results demonstrate the great efficacy of this natural anti-parasitic product against Ich, one of the most common parasites in aquaculture and ornamental fish , at a concentration as low as 6.3 mg/l.
Early data shows that Biokos is also effective against o ther fish pathogens including parasites, bacteria, and oomycetes. Further toxicity and environmental studies are underway as well as testing on further distinct fish parasite.