Parasites in Leporinus macrocephalus (Anostomidae) of four fish farms from the western Amazon (Brazil).

Luciano P Negreiros,Ligia R Neves,Marcos Tavares-Dias

doi:10.1590/0001-3765202120190988

Luciano P Negreiros, Ligia R Neves + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202120190988

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Abstract

This study evaluated the presence of metazoan parasites in Leporinus macrocephalus from four fish farms from the western Amazon (Brazil). In 160 fish examined, prevalence was 61.9%, and parasites found were: Urocleidoides paradoxus, Urocleidoides eremitus, Tereancistrum parvus, Jainus leporini, Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) inopinatus, Rhabdochona (Rhabdochona) acuminata, Dolops discoidalis and Ergasilus sp., but U. paradoxus was the dominant parasite. Jainus leporini and Ergasilus sp. occurred only in L. macrocephalus from one fish farm, while U. paradoxus, U. eremitus and T. parvus were found in fish from three fish farms. Dolops discoidalis, P. (S.) inopinatus and R. (R.) acuminata occurred only in L. macrocephalus from two fish farms. Higher infection levels were caused by U. paradoxus, U. eremitus and P. (S.) inopinatus, which had an aggregated dispersion. There was positive correlation between abundance of parasites and the length of hosts. No difference in the condition factor of parasitized and non-parasitized fish were found. Such differences between fish farms were attributed to differences in management and quality of cultivation environments, and data indicate the need to adopt prophylactic measures in the fish farms to prevent diseases in the future. This was the first report of D. discoidalis and Ergasilus sp. for L. macrocephalus.

Highlights

Leporinus macrocephalus Garavello & Britski, 1988; popularly known as piauçu or piavussu, is an endemic Anostomidae fish to the Paraguay River basin and can reach up to 60 cm in length; it is an important fishery resource and valuable for aquaculture of some Brazilian regions
Procamallanus (S.) inopinatus occurred in fish from fish farms 1 and 2, while Dolops discoidalis Bouvier, 1399 and Ergasilus sp. were found only in fish from fish farm 2 (Table III)
In L. macrocephalus, the high infection levels were caused by U. paradoxus, U. eremitus and P. (S.) inopinatus, but the dominance was of U. paradoxus

Summary

Introduction

Leporinus macrocephalus Garavello & Britski, 1988; popularly known as piauçu or piavussu, is an endemic Anostomidae fish to the Paraguay River basin and can reach up to 60 cm in length; it is an important fishery resource and valuable for aquaculture of some Brazilian regions. Among the species of the genus Leporinus, L. macrocephalus is the largest species. It had been cultivated mainly in the Southeast Brazilian region, once it presents high weight gain, high feed conversion, fast growth, tasty meat and rusticity to cultivation (Andrade et al 2006, Capodifoglio et al 2015). In 2017, the State of Acre produced 8,000 tons of farmed fish, mainly native species, including L. macrocephalus. Despite the economic importance of L. macrocephalus for the fish farming in the State

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