Occurrence of metazoan parasites of zebrafish Danio rerio(Cyprinidae) in Bangladesh

The fish were sampled in two ponds in Khulna District (Ganges River drainage, south Bangladesh) and in five ponds in Mymensingh District (Brahmaputra River drainage, north Bangladesh). Almost all fish were infected, with total prevalence of 90 %. Majority of parasites found were in larval or immature stage (all Digenea, Cestoda and Acanthocephala). Ectoparasite infections were very rare (scarce occurrence of Monogenea, Bivalvia and Crustacea). Larval Digenea represented the most frequent taxon (93.1% of all parasites collected) in all localities. Maximum prevalence (100 %) was observed in metacercariae of Acanthostomum sp. in Khulna District and in metacercariae of Centrocestus formosanus in Mymensingh District. Two mentioned species and Diplostomoidea sp. parasitized fish in all localities sampled. Generally the parasite load varied…