Parasitic infection of the janitor fish (Pterygoplichthys spp.) collected from Laguna de Bay and vicinity
Abstract/Summary
One hundred eight janitor fish (Pterygoplichthys spp.) collected from Laguna de Bay, and vicinity were surveyed for parasitic infection. Scales, fins, gills, gut and muscle tissue samples were examined using standard tissue preparation techniques with the aid of a dissecting microscope/stereomicroscope. Likewise water quality of the sampling sites was determined. One fish parasite namely Corynosoma sp. (Acanthocephala) was isolated from the caudal fin of a fish sample collected from Catmon Creek. A 3.03% fish parasite infection rate was determined for the fish samples from Catmon Creek while the rest of the sampling sites showed a remarkable 0% rate of infection. However, non-fish parasites were observed in the gills and guts of fish samples collected from all sites except one (San Pedro, Laguna de Bay). All muscle tissues surveyed were parasite-free.
