Parasites On Bass

[Diggy]

I fish in a neighborhood pond and this genetleman informed me of parasites on the fish, which I dont think I noticed before. He caught one and sure enough there were a bunch on one he caught.

 

I caught a small bass the other day and there was one in the roof of his mouth. I was able to remove it with a stick. The funny part is a blue heron almost stole him from the grass with the hook still attached to him when I got the stick, my rod handle fell in the water.

 

How common are parasites on bass and how detrimental is it to their health? Ive seen to only notice it in this lake so far.

 

 

edit---was able to catch a fish with them....Leeches?

[BrettD]

I bet 8 out of 10 fish I catch have small leech looking things on the inside of its mouth. I doubt it harms them at all the fish that do have them are completely healthy.

[BassinLou]

Parasites are pretty common. I see little critters on bass all the time. Study a bass up close next time and you will be suprised what you see.

[fishingman88]

Parasites are definitely common on fish.  Some are harmful but a lot of times, they can have a symbiotic relationship in which they are benefiting off each other.

[Diggy]

I bet 8 out of 10 fish I catch have small leech looking things on the inside of its mouth. I doubt it harms them at all the fish that do have them are completely healthy.

Just caught one, thought it may be a leech as well. I even had my mother look at the fish. I removed both. The fish looked skinny.

 

[BrettD]

That the same little creature I was talking about. One bass I caught that was like 5.5# had I bet 15-20 of them in his mouth. Probably just a skinny fish I've caught skinny fish that had nothing wrong with them and they looked 100% healthy.

[BenB54]

A few fish I have caught in the main waters I fish have had the same leech looking thing in their mouth. Always on an old hook tear/scar in the mouth. I always pick them off. I started to wonder though, since it's on a wound, is it helping clean/heal the wound or hurt it. Maybe someone will have more insight. Great post Diggy, I'm very curious on the matter.

[BassinLou]

Now I see what you guys are talking about. Leeches inside the mouth. I have only seen this a couple of times. I thought you guys were referring to the critters that are on the outside of the bass's body. They are small little things, usually on their backs. They seem to glide and move around on the slime.  

[Mainebass1984]

 It is very common for there to be ecto and endo parasites in and on bass. The the only time that that they cause health problems is when they occur in very large numbers. What happens is the large number of parasites cause stress on the fishes immunes system as well as loss of fluids in the case of leeches. The added stress on the fish effects its health. Instead of using all of its energy ( in order of importance ) for maintaining bodily functions, enzyme formation, fluids, muscle repair formation, and growth it now has to use more energy for its immune response which is a primary bodily function. Instead of using the usuall 30 % of energy obtained through feeding for growth it now has less energy for growth which leads to a thin or sickily looking fish. I think the most common parasites I see in or on bass is black spot, nemotodes and leeches. The pictures above are of leeches. They dont help heal wounds. If a fish appears healthy on the outside and is still skinny the problem could be on the inside which is usually a nemotode problem like a tape worm...

[Glenn]

And wouldn't you know it?  We have an article about this too!

 

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/fish_parasites.html

[Diggy]

It's funny, I'm watching Bill Dance and he just pulled a leech out of a bass's mouth.

[Brandon K.]

 It is very common for there to be ecto and endo parasites in and on bass. The the only time that that they cause health problems is when they occur in very large numbers. What happens is the large number of parasites cause stress on the fishes immunes system as well as loss of fluids in the case of leeches. The added stress on the fish effects its health. Instead of using all of its energy ( in order of importance ) for maintaining bodily functions, enzyme formation, fluids, muscle repair formation, and growth it now has to use more energy for its immune response which is a primary bodily function. Instead of using the usuall 30 % of energy obtained through feeding for growth it now has less energy for growth which leads to a thin or sickily looking fish. I think the most common parasites I see in or on bass is black spot, nemotodes and leeches. The pictures above are of leeches. They dont help heal wounds. If a fish appears healthy on the outside and is still skinny the problem could be on the inside which is usually a nemotode problem like a tape worm.

I had probably 1,000 -1,500 Fathead minnows die due to thier digestive system being blocked by these parasites. This was in an Aqua-Culture class in High School ('98-'99). I noticed after about a week or so they stopped feeding and several died. Then, after about a month I only had a handful left. During this time the head Fisheries Bioligist for West Virginia visited our school. She informed me that I was doing something wrong to have all these fish die. I pointed out the parasites on the outside of the fish and told her that I think those are problem. After she told me I was wrong again and, that they only live on the outside of the fish, I proceeded to cut open a bloated 4in. minnow and pull out hundreds of these tiny creatures. She had never in her career seen anything like that.