Isolation of a pigment-producing strain of Aeromonas liquefaciens from silver salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)

Aeromonas salmonicida, the etiological agent of furunculosis in fish, is distinctive in the field of fish diseases in that it may readily be recognized by the water-soluble reddish-brown pigment formed on culture media containing tyrosine. Additional tests for the identification of this organism include blackening of the colonial growth when flooded with an aqueous solution of p-phenylenediamine and a lack of motility (Griffin, Progressive Fish Culturist 14:74, 1952).