What is Vibrio fortis?

Vibrio fortis is the most prevalent pathogen in saltwater aquariums, occurring in over half the tanks we’ve sampled, usually without any reported symptoms in fish. 

To our knowledge this pathogen has only been associated with disease in seahorses and their relatives [1]. In laboratory challenge experiments, however, it also proved pathogenic for rainbow trout and brine shrimp, suggesting a much wider range of susceptible hosts [2].

1. Wang, X., et al. “A Novel Pathogenic Bacteria (Vibrio Fortis) Causing Enteritis in Cultured Seahorses, Hippocampus Erectus Perry, 1810.” Journal of fish diseases 39.6 (2016): 765-769.
2. Austin, Brian, et al. “Pathogenicity of vibrios to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum) and Artemia nauplii.” Environmental microbiology 7.9 (2005): 1488-1495.