High incidence of Lernea cyprinacea in fishes of Choghakhor Lagoon

Objective: This study carried out to identify infection level of Choghakhor lagoon fishes to crustacean parasite Lernea cyprinacea which is one of the most important parasite species causing wide variety of lesions in fish. The parasite is able to infect most groups of fishes and is known as a non specific parasite. Method & Materials: Sixty five fishes belong to different species, comprised native and introduced species, including Cyprinus carpio, Carassius auratus gibelio and Capoeta damascina, were randomly caught from the lagoon and were transported to the lab. Parasites were collected from different organs of fishes including lateral and abdominal surface, fins, operculum. Identification of parasites were done according to Gussev (1978). Results & Conclusion: The results showed that 76.9% of fishes were infected with the parasite and two native fish species C. damascina and C. aculeata showed the most infection rates (95 and 100%, respectively) which may endanger the population of fish in the lagoon. The highest rate of infection was observed in body surface and caudal fin of fishes with 52.3% and 32.3% and the lowest rate was found in operculum with 9.2% of infection which shows site specifcity of the parasite. This high incidence of parasite may endanger the population of fishes in lagoon which is more important in native fishes.

کلیدواژه ها:

fish parasites ، Lernea cyprinacea ، Choghakhor lagoon ، Iran