Fish kill caused by aluminium and iron contamination in a natural pond used for fish rearing: a case report

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Contamination of Pansky Pond, in March 2013, with 119 mg/l aluminium, and 87 mg/l iron by acidic (pH 3.17) inflow from a nearby quarry caused fish die-off, while exhibiting symptoms of suffocation. Transformation of soluble forms of aluminium and iron into insoluble forms occurred on fish gill where the content of aluminium and iron was 100-fold and 12-fold, respectively, that found in control fish in an unaffected pond. In addition to insoluble aluminium and iron, gills showed presence of iron bacteria. Histopathology was characterised by expression of reactive processes and regressive alterations resulting in gill tissue necrosis. Impairment of the excretory function of gills was reflected in significantly (P < 0.01) higher concentrations of ammonia in the blood plasma of exposed fish compared to the control. Damage to parenchymatous tissues (kidney, liver, spleen) of the exposed fish was manifested as dystrophic alterations, higher aluminium and iron content, and enhanced activity of transaminases in blood plasma compared to the control.

Assessment of selected trace metals in fish feeds, pond water and edible muscles of Oreochromis mossambicus and the evaluation of human health risk associated with its consumption in Vhembe district of Limpopo Province, South Africa

“…Concentrations of Al in water samples were below the DWAF [ 52 ] permissible limit of 30 μg/l ( Table 5 ). The extremely high concentration of Al (119 000 μg/l) recorded in Pansky fish ponds in Czech Republic resulted to fish mortality [ 92 ]. There is no permissible limit of Al reported in literature for fish feeds.…”

The Inner Workings of the Outer Surface: Skin and Gill Microbiota as Indicators of Changing Gut Health in Yellowtail Kingfish

“…Moreover, whilst iron oxidizing bacteria are widely distributed in environmental systems (particularly in aquatic environments) ( Hedrich et al, 2011 ), they do not appear to be typically associated with eukaryotic hosts and their co-occurrence here with organisms like Nitrosomonas seems counterintuitive given that ammonium oxidation would most likely be inhibited at any pH below 7. That said, earlier reports on fish diseases have, however, documented the association of certain iron bacteria like Leptothrix ochracea Kütz and other unidentified species in association with farmed Trout and Common Carp where they cover the gill lamellae and inhibit respiration by forming insoluble iron deposits ( Schäperclaus, 1992 ; Svobodová et al, 1993 ; Slaninova et al, 2014 ). Furthermore, a more recent report has also indicated the occurrence of other iron-oxidizing bacteria (like Zetaproteobacteria) as epibionts within the gills of deep-sea shrimp ( Jan et al, 2014 ).…”

Occurrence and Removal of Copper and Aluminum in a Stream Confluence Affected by Acid Mine Drainage

“…This effect is especially evident for Al and Cu because their concentrations for the San Francisco River before the confluence resulted non-detectable or nearly zero, respectively (Figure 3a,b). In the case of Al, since its solubility increases linearly as the pH decreases in the range of neutral to acidic values [10], it is expected that Al is not present in the liquid phase at neutral pH conditions, as occurs in the San Francisco River before the confluence. Regarding Cu concentrations, they are higher than 4 mg/L in the Yerba Loca Creek and San Francisco River after the junction, exceeding the maximum level allowed for drinking water in Chile, corresponding to 2 mg/L [26].…”

“…In the environment, Cu is commonly presented as a divalent cation and is generally more mobile in acidic conditions, while at pH above 7, it tends to form minerals like Cu carbonates and hydroxyl-carbonates [8,9]. Al is the third most abundant element in the Earth's crust and is commonly present as Al oxide and Al silicate [10,11]. At pH less than 6, Al can be leached from the soil and sediments in the water [10], but the solubility increases when pH is less than 4.5 [12].…”