Comparative In vitro Evaluation of Widely Used Aquaculture Disinfectants Against Major Marine Bacterial Fish Pathogens

reduction in all pathogens within 10 min at their MIC level. Formalin could not achieve the desired results even at 16-fold higher MIC values, showing its unsuitability for rapid surface disinfection protocols. All disinfectants showed reduced efficacy even at an organic load level of 0.5%. Integrated scoring system graded iodophor and BKC as the most effective disinfectants (> 80% of total score), making them strong candidates for aquaculture disinfection programmes. Collectively, the findings serve as the reference for adopting effective biosecurity practises against bacterial pathogens in marine/estuarine aquaculture.