Confirmation of catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque), mortality from Microcystis toxins

Unexplained deaths of pond-grown catfish have occurred for many years. At least some of these mortalities could be from cyanobacteria toxins ingested during feeding on floating diets or passively assimilated through gills during breathing. Recently we were able to document algal production and subsequent ingestion of these toxicants by catfish during a mortality event. The causative organism, Microcystis aeruginosa, was the dominant species within the phytoplankton community during the cooler autumn-winter season. Pond conditions included a drop in water temperature by c . 5 °C during the 10 days preceding the fish mortalities. Microcystin-LR, a hepatotoxin produced by Microcystis , was detected in water samples and in catfish liver tissue. Fish exposed to pond water containing this toxic bloom were killed within 24 h. Necropsy of fish revealed congested liver and spleen tissues. The combination of clinical signs, detection of microcystin LR in water and in liver, and death of fish exposed to pond water supports the diagnosis of microcystin toxicosis. More research is needed to identify specific environmental conditions initiating toxin production to model and predict occurrence of these toxic algal blooms.