Observation on prevalence of ectoparasites in carp fingerlings in two districts of West Bengal.

The present study has been carried out to find out the prevalence of ectoparasites of carp fingerlings during different months of the year 2008-2009. Four groups of ectoparasites viz. myxozoan, ciliophoran, monogenean and crustacean were recorded from 400 fingerlings of Rohu (Labeo rohita), Catla (Catla catla), Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala), Bata (Labeo bata), Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and Lata (Channa punctatus) collected from different ponds of Nadia and Hooghly district of West Bengal from June 2008 to May 2009. The highest prevalence (51.66%) of infection has been recorded in ciliophorans and the lowest was in crustacean (17.5%) between the months of December and February. The highest ectoparasitic prevalence (36.85%) was recorded during winter season (December-February) while the lowest prevalence (9.16%) recorded during rainy season (June-August).