When looking for BSS, be on the look out for reef fishes with abnormal black spots. The spots are usually found on the fins and skin of infected fish. Spots can be easily identified on ocean surgeonfish thanks to their pale color (see project cover image). It can sometimes be difficult to differentiate between a BSS spot and debris/scarring, but usually black spots will be circular, dark in color, and will be inconsistent with any typical patterns.

Please remember that while uploads of infected fish are extremely valuable, it is also crucial to upload images of non-infected fish so that there can be a wide array of positive (infected) and negative (non-infected) data!

Posted on June 14, 2023 03:21 PM by mackenzie159