Japan has started inoculating aquarium fish against ‘scutica’, a parasitic insect found in marine rocksuckers.
Vaccinations in aquaculture have been used since the 2000s, and are effective for such species as yellowtail and flounder, reports the Asahi Shimbun.
In 2017, the aquarium started to vaccinate ornamental fish in cooperation with Ehime University, which had made progress in studies of scutica vaccines for the aquaculture of flounder.
When the aquarium gave vaccinations to snappers and other fish, their deaths resulting from scutica drastically decreased.
