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Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleBackground In common carp, Cyprinus carpio carpio L. Swim Blad-der Inflammation (SBI) of fingerlings is an acute and se-vere disease of economic impact in Central Europe [1]. The first signs of SBI include dilated blood vessels and haemorrhages on the swim bladder. In acute SBI, the epithelium of the swim bladder becomes multilayered and edematous. As the disease progresses, lymphocytes infiltrate the bladder wall and surrounding areas and secondary infections occur (reviewed in [1]). Mortalities can affect up to 100 % of carp fingerling stocks in Central Europe [2]. Research into SBI first intensified in the 1980s, when the myxozoan Sphaerospora dykovae (Lom and Dyková, 1982) (previously S. renicola) was identified as a key player in the etiology of the disease [1,3-7]. Myxozoans are diverse and widely distributed microscopic parasite