Salmon caudal fin development (Salmo salar) Desarrollo de la aleta caudal del salmón (Salmo salar)

Abstract

© 2015, Universidad de la Frontera. All rights reserved.Caudal fin pathologies and traumas can affect swimming, impede food and exhaust efficiency, and also increase susceptibility to bacterial and fungal infections. Adult salmon can regenerate their fin quickly and completely if it is amputated. However, yolk sac fry expressing anatomical defects in the caudal fin have been reported in southern Chile and are associated to a high mortality rate where regeneration does not occur. There are many studies on adult salmon but this description does not match the morphology of the juvenile phase. We describe the anatomy and histology of the caudal fin in salmon 15mm, 30 mm and 60 mm to facilitate the early diagnosis of diseases of the caudal fin. We worked with 60 salmon divided into three groups of 20 in steps of 15, 30 and 60 mm. 10 salmon from each group were processed with Hanken & Wassersug anatomical techniques. Another 10 fry from each group were processed using H&E/Alcian blue pH 2.5