Two-tailed fancy goldfish challenged with Bacteroides spp. isolated from shubunkin goldfish

Abstract

This study aimed to isolate, morpho-biochemically characterize and identify the most common bacterium in diseased shubunkin goldfish, and challenge the two-tailed fancy goldfish using the identified bacterium. With the aid of Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, the bacterium was identified as Bacteroides spp. The bacterium was characterized as follows: Gram-negative, coccobacillus, facultative anaerobe, hemolytic, glucose and sucrose fermentative but not lactose and xylose, negative to catalase, Methyl red, Voges-Proskauer and hydrogen sulphide production tests, and positive to Simmon’s citrate utilization, liquefaction of gelatin, nitrate reduction, urea hydrolysis and indole production. Two-tailed goldfish challenged with Bacteroides spp. showed clinical signs such as gasping for air, irritability, sloughing of scale, lesion and watery internal organs. Keywords: Shubunkin goldfish, two-tailed goldfish, biochemical tests, Bacteroides