Costia/Velvet

[Carl]

I updated the Costia/Velvet article in Aquarium Answers, primarily in the section dealing with Costia.

Costia & Velvet; Aquarium Answers

Carl

[Carl]

I have updated the "Aquarium/Pond Answers" article about freshwater fish velvet and costia

Here is a snip:
"freshwater velvet, loach
Piscinoodinium pillulare are flagellate protozoa, single-celled organisms that move around by thrashing their whip like flagella.
There are many species of flagellates that are part of the normal intestinal fauna of fishes, and many more kinds of free-living flagellates make a living in the mucus of fish gills and skin, without attaching themselves or causing trouble, but even some ordinarily harmless ones can become pathogenic in stressed hosts.
Piscinoodinium pillulare is not harmless; it puts down a root like extension and can burrow into the skin or gill tissues.
Giardia lamblia is a similar flagellate protozoa in humans that can cause severe acute diarrhea which may lead to a chronic diarrhea and nutritional disorders."

Reference:
www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2007/01/freshwater-velvet-piscinoodinium.html

Carl