Collections of Saprolegniaceous fungi were made from diseased tropical fish. Nineteen strains, representing three fungal genera (<u>Saprolegnia</u>, <u>Achlya</u> and <u>Pythium</u>), were isolated from 11 fish species. Due to difficulty in inducing sexual fruiting, only two strains were identified to species; both of these being <u>A. americana</u>. Laboratory infection studies revealed the ability of strains of each different fungus to infect five selected tropical fish species. <u>Saprolegnia</u> sp. and <u>A. americana</u> proved to be more vigorous and lethal pathogens than <u>Pythium</u> sp. No indications of host specificity were evident. All chemicals tested (Table 4) showed definite fungicidal abilities. No effective fungicidal concentration of the chemicals tested would permit sustained fish culturing. Malachite green was the most effective fungicide tested, being functional in concentrations as low as 2 ppm. / Master of Science