Miamiensis avidus

This is a ciliate parasite of fish, one of a related group of parasites responsible for the disease called Uronema or Scuticociliatosis. 

The genetic marker we use for these tests does not distinguish between this species and a closely related parasitic ciliate Philasterides dicentrarchi. This genetic similarity is well known, with some authors considering these to be the same species. In any case, both are known causes of the disease so this distinction is of little practical importance. 

This species is the second most common parasitic ciliate found in hobbyist samples, occurring in about 2% of the samples we’ve tested. For more details, see this discussion about the disease.