Pathological response in gills of marine fishes due to the parasitic stress and its relationship with water quality

Ramudu, Kurva Raghu and Rathod, J L (2024) Pathological response in gills of marine fishes due to the parasitic stress and its relationship with water quality. Veterinary Practitioner, 25 (1). pp. 98-103.

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Abstract

The term fish pathology in this paper applies only to Indian Mackerel, Rastrelliger kanagurta. Fish pathology deals with diseases caused by parasites, bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens that affect fish’s lifestyle. In the present study, we observed significant pathological changes due to parasitic infestation/infections and their relation with water quality. Firstly, targeted isolation and identification of the parasites have been done from the R. kanagurta. In this investigation, we found adult isopods (Norileca indica and Nerocila depressa), developmental stages of isopods, Caligus spp., Trichodina spp. And Dactylogyrus spp.during this work period. A total of 750 fish were examined in this study, and we found a relationship between water quality and parasitic infestation. Salinity (28.70±2.30) and temperature (28.50±0.9) might have favored the proliferation of the parasites during this period. This may be the optimum range of water quality parameters for the growth and feeding of the parasites. As per our observations, salinity and temperature play an essential role in causing the parasitic infestation in R. kanagurta. The prevalence of the parasites had no significant (P>0.05, df=2) effect in all seasons. However, parasitic isopods differ significantly (P<0.05) according to the season. They showed maximum prevalence in the pre-monsoon (January to April). Finally, we observed that reported parasites were causing major histological changes in the gill tissues.

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