Twelve strains of fish pathogenic aeromonads were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing as Aeromonas bestiarum, A. hydrophila, A. hydrophila subsp. dhakensis, A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida, A. sobria biovar sobria and A. veronii biovar sobria. Following intramuscular injection, A. hydrophila subsp. dhakensis caused dark liquefying, raised furuncle-like lesions in rainbow trout within 48 h. Extracellular products of all cultures contained gelatinase and lecithinase, and most revealed lipase. Congo red absorption and siderophore production was recorded, but not so the suicide phenomenon or slime production. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis profile of the outer membrane proteins (OMP) revealed 10-25 bands, of which major bands were seen in the region of 32.5-47.5 and 62-83 kDa. Marked heterogenicity of the OMP and whole cell protein (WCP) profiles within and among the species was observed. Polypeptides of 83-173 kDa were detected in the WCP profile of the cultures, but they were not expressed in OMP fractions.