Parasites in farmed Piaractus brachypomus (Serrasalmidae) in the state of Acre, western Brazilian Amazonia

Abstract

This study investigated the parasite fauna in Piaractus brachypomus grown in fish farms in the state of Acre, in the western Brazilian Amazon. We examined 160 fish from four farms. Overall parasite prevalence was 66.9%. The fish were parasitized by Anacanthorus spathulatus, Mymarothecium viatorum, Anacanthorus penilabiatus, Clinostomum marginatum, Echinorhynchus jucundus and Henneguya sp., but monogenean species were the dominant parasites. Monogeneans showed an aggregated distribution pattern and there was a weak correlation between host size and abundance of M. viatorum and A. penilabiatus. No difference in the condition factor of parasitized and non-parasitized fish was detected. The fish of all farms had the gills parasitized by A. spathulatus and M. viatorum, but A. penilabiatus was found only in fish from two farms. Echinorhynchus jucundus, C. marginatum and Henneguya sp. were found in only one farm. The differences in parasitism level among the farms are attributable to differences in management and quality of cultivation environments.

Growth, red blood cells, and gill alterations of red pacu (Piaractus brachypomus) fingerlings by chronic exposure to different total suspended solids in biofloc

“…Because gills are structures in direct and constant contact with water for the processes of respiration, osmoregulation, and excretion, they are the first to show the effects generated by inadequate environmental conditions or by the presence of pathogens (Negreiros & Tavares‐Dias, 2019; Poleksic & Mitrovic‐Tutundzic, 1994). The response to stressors in the water can be observed in gill morphological changes that depend on the level and type of exposure to the stressor (Kjelland, Woodley, Swannack, & Smith, 2015; Schumann & Brinker, 2020).…”

Albendazole is effective for controlling monogenean parasites of the gills of Piaractus brachypomus (Serrasalmidae) and Megaleporinus macrocephalus (Anostomidae)

“…Farmed in commercial fish farms, these fish are routinely stressed by intensive production management practices, leading to the emergence of parasitic diseases that naturally occur in the aquatic environment. Hence, parasitic diseases are most common in the farming of these fish species and are among the factors that strongly interfere with their growth (Martins et al, 2017;Negreiros & Tavares-Dias, 2019;Negreiros et al, 2021). Among the main taxa of disease-causing parasites in P. brachypomus (Negreiros & Tavares-Dias, 2019) and M. macrocephalus (Martins et al, 2002(Martins et al, , 2017Negreiros et al, 2021Negreiros et al, , 2022 are helminths monogeneans.…”