The First Report on the Occurrence of Monogenean Parasite Infestation on Silver Pompano (Trachinotus Blochii) Reared in Floating Net Cage Systems in Indonesia

Abstract

This investigation reports a monogenean outbreak infesting silver pompano (Trachinotus blochii) from floating net cages in Indonesia. The diseased fish showed clinical signs of anorexia, and emaciation and were gasping for air at the water's surface. This study was conducted to determine the first report on the occurrence of monogenean parasite infestation in silver pompano Trachinotus blochii reared in floating net cage systems on Lampung water, Indonesia. The parasites collected from the skin and gill were studied using optical binocular microscopy and descriptive analysis. The results showed that the monogenean parasite found infesting silver pompano was Neobenedenia girellae and Pyragraphorus hollisae. N.girellae infested the eyes, head, and lateral surface body, while P.hollisae infested the secondary part of the gill lamellae. The monogenean parasites that were found on 5-15 cm silver pompano had a prevalence of 87.5% and an intensity of 15.40, while the fish with a size of 20-30 cm had a 71.43% prevalence and an intensity of 19.16. In the morphological features, the specimen's parasites were identical to those of monogenean groups. Thus, in this study, we confirmed that the parasites belonged to Nebonedenia girellae and Pyragraphorus hollisae. Therefore, this work provides the first detailed description of an ectoparasite that successfully infests pomfret, and molecular approaches such as DNA Barcoding are needed to provide in-depth information for future taxonomic and phylogenetic studies. Furthermore, this finding can serve as an early warning for relevant authorities and farmers that must be managed with aquaculture decision-makers.