Parasitic fauna of cachara cultured in a net-cage in the Paraguay River, Brazil

The objective of this work was to describe the parasitic fauna of cachara (Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum) cultured in a net-cage in the Paraguai River, Brazil. Ten fish with mean weight of 598.0 +/- 81.3 g and total length of 38.6 +/- 1.6 cm were examined. All necropsied fish were parasitized by at least two species. Among them, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ciliophora), Myxobolus sp. and Henneguya sp. (Myxozoa), Monogenoidea, Choanoscolex abscissus and Nominoscolex sudobim (Cestoda), Do lops carvalhoi (Crustacea), and Digenea were diagnosed. The protozoan Ichthyophthirius multifiliis was the most prevalent parasite.