Epistylis, a misunderstood aquarium fish disease.
Channel: Freshwater Ichthyology
Date: 2023-04-30

Epistylis spp. is a fish disease which commonly has been misdiagnosed against whitespot, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis which is a much more common disease in freshwater aquarium fishes regardless of tropical, cold water or temperate. These diseases are commonly plagues with fishes such as clown loaches but are more of an issue for the new aquarist who is unsure of the best sources to find information.
This information is relevant for many fishes whether it be cichlids, loaches, tetra, catfishes etc..
I have included references should someone want to research further.


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References:
Ksepka, S. P., & Bullard, S. A. (2021). Morphology, phylogenetics and pathology of “red sore disease”(coinfection by Epistylis cf. wuhanensis and Aeromonas hydrophila) on sportfishes from reservoirs in the South‐Eastern United States. Journal of Fish Diseases, 44(5), 541-551.
Valladao, G. M. R., Levy-Pereira, N., Viadanna, P. H. D. O., Gallani, S. U., Farias, T. H. V., & Pilarski, F. (2015). Haematology and histopathology of Nile tilapia parasitised by Epistylis sp., an emerging pathogen in South America. Bulletin of the European Association of Fish Pathologists, 35(1), 14-20.
Wang, Z., Zhou, T., Guo, Q., & Gu, Z. (2017). Description of a new freshwater ciliate Epistylis wuhanensis n. sp.(Ciliophora, Peritrichia) from China, with a focus on phylogenetic relationships within family Epistylididae. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, 64(3), 394-406.
Wu, T., Li, Y., Zhang, T., Hou, J., Mu, C., Warren, A., & Lu, B. (2021). Morphology and molecular phylogeny of three Epistylis species found in freshwater habitats in China, including the description of E. foissneri n. sp.(Ciliophora, Peritrichia). European Journal of Protistology, 78, 125767.