Gone Fishin’ With Tanner and Kelton: Trout Diseases

The trout in the eastern Idaho Snake River on the South Fork have been reported to have some sort of fungus or sore on their skin. This disease is causing these fish to die. It gives them no chance for survival once they have it they will eventually pass away the fish will stop eating and swim to the shallows where they will eventually die from their sickness. The disease spreads from fish to fish and it will keep spreading. The fungus fills rough and has a white color. They are easy to spot in the water and if you see them do the right thing and put them out of their misery. Now what is this disease? This is a fungus called saprolegnia. It is a contagious fungus that can destroy freshwater fish populations, especially during record high populations of fish due to the increased amount of stress on the fish due to the lack of food to support the increasing number of fish. The stress lowers the immune system that allows the fungus to infect the fish.