# Fish Parasites



## CatmanOne (May 16, 2007)

Went fishing at Berlin Saturday and caught 8 large mouth bass between 2-4 pounds each, kept 3 to eat and when I cleaned them one of the fish had several strange looking parasites it's stomach. I have seen them years ago in bass from mogadore but have not been keeping a lot of fish lately therefore have not seen them lately I guess. Anyway I am not sure if it is a tapeworm, roundworm or some other type of nematode. It looks like a small worm that is curled up into a tight ball. If you can imagine what a garden hose looks like spooled up, that is what it resembles. The worm is probably 1 or 2 inches in length if straightened out. They did not wiggle or more in any way and were pretty firm in nature, but not hard enough as to prevent you from straighten them out. It is my understanding that the division of wildlife says that Ohio fish parasites are not a threat to humans as long as the fish is thoroughly cooked, but doing research on the issue, I cannot find a parasite, which resembles this type in Ohio fish. I did manage too find a picture of a cod worm that is pretty much is a dead ringer for these things I found in this bass. Any one have a good answer for what these things are or do others routinely see these in other types of fish. The fish did not have these in the flesh of the fish only the stomach.


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## Agent47 (Jun 27, 2006)

1 Possibility

Cestodes, A small round worm are found in a wide variety of animals, including fish. The life cycle of cestodes is extremely varied with fish used as the primary or intermediate host. Cestodes infect the alimentary tract, muscle or other internal organs. Larval cestodes called plerocercoids are some of the most damaging parasites to freshwater fish. Plerocercoids decrease carcass value if present in muscle, and impair reproduction when they infect gonadal tissue. Problems also occur when the cestode damages vital organs such as the brain, eye or heart. 
One of the most serious adult cestodes that affect fish is the Asian tapeworm, Bothriocephalus acheilognathi . It has been introduced to the United States with grass carp and has caused serious problems with bait minnow producers. 
Praziquantel at 2 -- 10 mg/L for 1 to 3 hours in a bath is effective in treating adult cestode infections in ornamental fish. At this time, there is no treatment that can be used for food fish. Also, there is no successful treatment for plerocercoids. Ponds can be disinfected to eradicate the intermediate host, the copepod

here is a link also about all worms in fish
http://www.fao.org/wairdocs/tan/x5951e/x5951e01.htm


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## CatmanOne (May 16, 2007)

Thanks for the reply Agent47. I think you are correct with Crestodes, that pretty much describes exactly what they looked like. Thanks


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## Gabmstr (Mar 31, 2007)

Went fishing at Mogadore yesterday and got a nice size mud cat, some blue gill and some perch. We only kept 1 BG, the perch and the cat. When my son went to clean them he found yellow spots on the cat and BG. I saw this back in 2002 at Ladue. When this happened I was told that it was a parasite that comes from the warm waters. If the waters cool, the parasite dies off. If the fish stay deep, they don't get infected. Is this the same thing? If not, does anyone know anything about this?


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## jeff-bob (Apr 23, 2007)

Hey catman, for us catch-n-release fellows, what did ya' get those bass on?


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## Agent47 (Jun 27, 2006)

Gabmstr said:


> Went fishing at Mogadore yesterday and got a nice size mud cat, some blue gill and some perch. We only kept 1 BG, the perch and the cat. When my son went to clean them he found yellow spots on the cat and BG. I saw this back in 2002 at Ladue. When this happened I was told that it was a parasite that comes from the warm waters. If the waters cool, the parasite dies off. If the fish stay deep, they don't get infected. Is this the same thing? If not, does anyone know anything about this?


Gab, once again this is just a maybe as I am NO Vet or water expert but this might be a possibility:

"taken from U.S Govt environmental control posting for University exams and prerequisite composits for Assoc in Biology"

Most reports of small black, yellow spots or white bumps in the fins and flesh of fish are the commonly observed parasites tapeworms, yellow grubs, white grubs, and black spot. While the appearance may be unappetizing, fish that is properly cleaned and cooked cannot transmit any parasite or disease to people who eat the fish. With proper kitchen hygiene and thorough cooking, fish parasites are not known to cause problems in humans. Like other meats, properly cleaned and cooked fish can still transmit the basic food poisoning diseases if left out or handled improperly after cooking. Worms or grubs in fish go through a complex life cycle and undergo physical changes within a variety of organisms called hosts. Most fish have parasites and they seldom affect the health of the fish except under unusual conditions. Most fish parasites have complex life cycles often involving birds, snails, and microscopic animals. Attempts to control them are usually futile and unnecessary except in controlled hatchery or fish farming situations. Larval tapeworms are common in the organs and body cavity of many fishes. Because internal organs are discarded when fish are cleaned, this parasite is often overlooked. Tapeworms resemble long thin ribbons about 1/16 of an inch wide. Black spot is caused by a parasite called a fluke which burrows into the skin of fish. The black pigment (about the size of a pin head) forms in the tissue surrounding the fluke and is a reaction of the fish to the parasite. The fluke itself is actually a white color. Yellow grub is caused by flukes which burrow into a fish and curl up into a sac under the skin, in the muscle or in internal organs. These flukes are often found near the dorsal fins, but occasionally in the organs. When freed from the sac, flukes may be up to one half inch long. White grubs are a fluke that penetrates the skin and forms a sac in the kidneys or liver. These grubs are similar to but smaller than yellow grubs.


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## CatmanOne (May 16, 2007)

Jeff-Bob, caught 1 largemouth on 4in white grub tail with 1/4 ounce jig head, 3 on chartruse spinner bait with white trailer, and 4 on number 7 count down silver and blue. All fish caught in 4-8 foot of water throwing against shore, where ever you could find rocks. Did not catch anything where there was mostly sand, fish were holding on rocks. Also caught about 15 small mouth but threw them all back largest was about 12 inches. Went tue and got 7wed got 5, only fished about 1 1/2 hours each night tue and wed. Good luck


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

CatmanOne, I sent your note to Fish Management and this is what they say: "Dave Insley, the Castalia State Fish Hatchery Supervisor identified them as Acanthocephalans, also known as " thorny-headed worms." Heavy infestations may cause inflammations of the intestinal walls. It is not common to see much mortality resulting from this parasite. As with many fish parasites this one does not present a problem to humans, although we always recommend proper cooking! NO SUSHI for me ! "


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## MSmith2004 (Sep 12, 2006)

The other day I caught a rock bass outta the cuyahoga and as I went to unhook i noticed soars all over his body. Then I noticed they all had....like something growing out of them. they kind of looked like little claws. It was nasty. Reminded me of Alien.


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## CatmanOne (May 16, 2007)

Whaler, thanks for checking with fish managment. At least we can take some comfort in that these things are not supposed to be harmful to humans. But I agree no SUSHI for me.


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