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

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.