Ectoparasites of the freshwater food fishes of Haryana

Abstract

This communication records eight ectoparasites of the gills and skin from edible freshwater fishes of Haryana. Since all eight parasites collected differ from those described earlier in the literature, they are briefly redescribed and arranged systematically.

The effects of argulosis-saprolehniasis on the growth and production of Cyprinus carpoi

“…C. carpio accounts for at least 45 y0 of Indian freshwater fish production, although mortality during the early stages of development is typically greater than 60% (Zhingran, 1982). Infectious diseases are a major contributor to this mortality (Singhal et al, 1986) and C. carpio reared in freshwater artificial ponds are highly susceptible to the crustacean Argulus indicus Weber and the fungal Saprolegnia diclina Humphrey-S. parasitica Coker complex (Singhal et al, 1984(Singhal et al, , 1985. As well as increasing mortality, these diseases are thought to result in reduced growth of infected fish (Willoughby, 1985).…”

A key for the identification of African piscine parasitic Ergasilidae (Copepoda:Poecilostomatoida)

“…Specimens are fixed in 5% buffered neutral formalin. Although alcohol fixation has been suggested (Singhal, Jeet & Davies 1984;Thatcher & Boeger 1983;Cloutman & Becker 1977), this method has proved to be unsuitable for later histological and scanning electron microscopical work. In order to negate the long-term effects of formalin preservation it is, however, recommended that specimens be preserved in either 70% ethanol or 50% propanol after 24-h formalin fixation.…”

“…A piece of suitable absorbent tissue is placed against the edge of the coverslip and the specimen 'squashed' (Thatcher 1984) as a result of the withdrawal of fluid. As the preparation cannot be dissembled, a semi-permanent preparation can be made by sealing the t i t Figure 1 Dorsal views of the cephalothorax and true thoracic segments of African Ergasilus (redrawn from original descriptions): (Singhal et al 1984;Johnson 1969: Fernando & Hanek 1971, but has been found to be time consuming and ineffective. Examination of unstained specimens at magnifications of 20--400 x under a phase-contrast microscope yields excellent results and fine detail is clearly visible.…”