In aquaculture, juvenile fish from nurseries may be distributed to
large areas for culture in grow-out ponds to reach market size. While
fry introduced to nursery ponds are usually free from FZT infection,
juvenile fish are commonly infected during the nursing in earthen
pondswhere the fish are exposed to a number of environmental factors
[7,9,10]. Therefore, prevention of infection in these juvenile fish would
be important for reducing spread of FZT [11,12]. Identification of aquaculture
management practices and other potential risk factors for FZT
infection in juvenile fish is therefore essential when developing interventions
to prevent and control infection. Preliminary studies had
shown that pond water depth was associated with higher prevalence
of FZT infection in juvenile giant gourami (Osphronemus goramy) [11].
The reason for this positive correlation was not clear