Investigation of outbreak of Lernaea cyprinacea Linnaeus, 1758 (Crustacea: Copepoda) in fish from Choghakhor Lagoon

The study was carried out to investigate a heavy outbreak of crustacean parasite Lernaea cyprinacea in fishes from Choghakhor Lagoon in spring and summer 2008 following the report of natives and fishermen on the mortality of fishes in the Lagoon. Sixty five fish from different species were studied which 49 fish (75.38 percent) found to be invaded by Lernaea and 16 fish (24.62 percent) didnt show any parasitic infection sign. The highest infection rate was observed in Capoeta damascina. The results also showed that there is no significant relation between infection rate with weight and age of fishes. The site specifity of the parasite was also studied and the highest number of parasites were found on the base of pectoral fin and the lowest were observed on the head and operculum and the differences was statistically significant (p<0.05).