Investigation and Identification of Fungal Infestation in Skin of Melanochromis auratus in Farms, Mazandaran Province

Melanochromis auratus is one of the most important ornamental fishes. This species is prone to kinds of diseases alike other fishes and fungal diseases are the most common disease. The aim of this study was investigation and identification of fungal infestation in skin of Melanochromis auratus in farms, Mazandaran Province (Sari, Amol and Behshahr). 15 fishes were randomly sampled from each farm. Skin samples were cultured in Saboro Dextrose Agar (SDA), Glucose Peptone Agar (GPA) and after the formation of colonies, fungal species were identified. The results showed that there were Saprolegnia, Aspergillus flavus and Acremonium in 20% of fishes in Sari farm, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium, Rhizopus and Cladosporium in 26.6% of fishes in Amol farm and Saprolegnia, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium, Mucor and Alternaria in 33.3% of fishes in Behshahr farm, respectively. There was a significant difference between fishes in different farms (P