Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

FRESHWATER FISH PARASITE DIVERSITY IN WEST BENGAL – AREVIEW

C. Roy, S.R. Dey and B. Bhowmik

Abstract

Aquaculture has the potential to meet the need of growing demand of fish in an affordableprice. But incapture and in culture fisheries the fishes face diseases that interfere in the production of fish. The occurrenceof disease causes the reduced production in aquaculture or reduce the marketable value of fishbecause ofchange of flesh quality, thus hampering the production. Freshwater fishes whether they are cultured orwild face different types of diseases in their skin, gills, fins, blood, and internal organs.Theparasites thatcause the diseases may be protozoans or metazoans.The main protozoan freshwater fish diseases areichthyophthiriasis, trichodiniasis, costiosis, chilodonellosis. The most common metazoan parasitic diseasesof freshwater fishes are dactylogyrusis, gyrodactylosis, argulosis, myxosporidiasis, ligulosis, ergasilosis,lernaesis, etc. The focus of this review is to screen the research studies that takes place on freshwater fishparasites of West Bengal. The review also aims to study the diversity of freshwater fish parasites in WestBengal, so that it will helps the researcher to get an idea about the freshwater fish parasites and their modeof infection in the fishes. The research work that takes place in different regions of WestBengal. Some ofthem reveal new species of parasites in fishes. Protozoan, cnidarian, acanthocephalan, nematode, cestode,trematode, crustacean parasites are identified in freshwater fishes of West Bengal. Among theprotozoanscailiates, flagellates are identified. Trichodinids are very common protozoan fish parasites in most districts.Parasites under genus Myxobolus, Dactylogyrus, Gyrodactylus, Argulus,Lernea are common among themetazoans.