Vibrio anguillarum was isolated from several organs of some aquarium catfish in a fish population with high mortality. Macroscopic examination of the affected catfish revealed ascites in the abdomen, site-petechiae, and dorsal erection. Although there are some variations in phenotypic characterization among different isolates of Vibrio anguillarum, the majority show a common biochemical profile...

An experiment was conducted to test using effluents from intensive hybrid catfish (Clarias macrocephalus × C. gariepinus) ponds as nutrient inputs for Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) culture, which would reduce effluent effects from catfish culture, gain extra fish production at low cost, and possibly make aquaculture more profitable to farmers. Three treatments were done with three replic...

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) with a golden pigment and black spots were discovered during harvest of a University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) experimental channel catfish production pond. Golden catfish were mixed with catfish of normal pigmentation and of similar sizes. Following the observation that differences existed in algal-off flavor, three golden and three normal pigmented...

Edwardsiella ictaluri (E. ictaluri), a Gram-negative, intracellular, facultative bacterium, is the causative agent of enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC), which is one of the most significant diseases of farmed channel catfish. Macrophages have a critical role in major defense mechanisms against bacterial infections by migrating to the site of infection, engulfing and killing pathogens, and pri...

The demand for farm-raised channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) has grown tremendously in recent years due to year round availability, consistent quality, and healthy attributes of catfish. In 1993, over 459 million tons of catfish were produced in the United States (Anon., 1994). As this industry has grown, so has the amount of offal, trimmings, and other solid waste generated and the need to...

Olfactory discrimination of amino acids was investigated in brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus). Based on the magnitude of the observed food search activity of catfish conditioned to single amino acids, the tested compounds were classified as being detected by the catfish as equal to, similar to, or different from the conditioned stimulus. L-Proline (L-Pro)-conditioned brown bullhead ca...

Vaccination is an effective strategy used for the protection of food animals against infectious diseases. A 2010 U.S. Department of Agriculture questionnaire examined U.S. catfish industry use (in 2009) of two commercial vaccines that provide protection against enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC) and columnaris disease, catfish producers' opinions regarding the percentage of vaccinated fish the...

As the global market for fisheries and aquaculture products expands, mislabeling of these products has become a growing concern in the food safety arena. Molecular species identification techniques hold the potential for rapid, accurate assessment of proper labeling. Here we developed and evaluated DNA barcodes for use in differentiating United States domestic and imported catfish species. Firs...

Animal protein, generally fish meal, has traditionally been used in the diet of channel catfish. However, our previous research indicates that animal protein is not needed for growing stockersize catfish to food fish when the fish are stocked at densities typical of those used in commercial catfish culture. Whether this holds when fish are stocked at high densities is not known; thus, we conduc...

CD81, also known as the target of an antiproliferative antibody 1 (TAPA-1) in human, is a member of tetraspanin integral membrane protein family. This protein plays many important roles in immune and other physiological functions. In this report, we characterized and analyzed expression of the channel catfish CD81 transcript. The full-length of channel catfish CD81 cDNA comprised of 1130 nucleo...