Control of freshwater fish parasites: a Southeast Asian perspective

Parasites commonly found in freshwater fishes and other aquatic animals primarily belong to Protozoa, Platyhelminthes, Acanthocephala, Nematoda, Hirudinea and Crustacea. Most of these parasites are external parasites of the skin, fins or gills, while few are internal parasites living in the epidermal intralamellar gills, intestine or intramuscular tissues. Possible control measures involving manual removal, cleaning by topical cleaners, management practices, nutritional improvement, vaccination, chemoprophylaxis, chemotherapy, and quarantine and certification, etc., are discussed.