Abstract
Cryptocaryon irritans (Brown, 1951) is an obligate parasite that mainly invades the skin, fins and gills of marine fish and causes marine ‘white spot disease’. It is common to aquarium and maricultured fish and causes high mortality due to its widespread geographical distribution, indiscriminate host specificity, short and simple life cycle, and high level of virulence. Numerous physical methods and chemical bath agents are applied to cure this disease in closed, re‐circulating aquaculture systems, but these treatments are not suitable in open environments such as cages and ponds. Fortunately, new measures, such as oral chemical drugs, oral plant components, vaccines and even biological control, are being developed as promising methods to treat and prevent cryptocaryoniasis in open aquaculture systems. Here, we provide a broad overview of C . irritans research, focussing primarily on work conducted in the last decade that may offer new insights into the treatment of disease in a practical setting.