Life Cycle
The single-celled parasite's life cycle can be divided into three major phases. First, as a tomont, the parasite rests at the water's floor and divides into as many as 256 tomites. Second, these juvenile, motile tomites swim about in search of a fish host, meanwhile using photosynthesis to grow, and to fuel their search. Finally, the adolescent tomite finds and enters the slime coat of a host fish, dissolving and consuming the host's cells, and needing only three days to reach full maturity before detaching to become a tomont once more.
Read more about this topic: Velvet (fish Disease)
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