The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the parasitic fauna and the host-parasite relationship in Colossoma macropomum farmed in cages of Matapi River, municipally of Santana, State of Amapá, in eastern Amazon, Brazil. Of 60 specimens of tambaqui examined, 96.7% were parasitized by protozoans Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ciliophora) and Piscinoodinium pillulare (Dinoflagellida), monogenoideans Mymarotheciun boegeri and Anacanthorus spathulatus (Dactylogyridae), and leeches Glossiphoniidae gen. sp. (Hirudinea). The higher infestation levels were caused by protozoans I. multifiliis and P. pillulare, while the lower infestation levels were caused by leeches. No effects of parasitic infestation rates on fish health were observed. The relative condition factor (Kn) was not correlated with the intensity of parasites found. This was the first record of I. multifiliis and P. pillulare in C. macropomum farmed in cages in the Brazilian Amazon.
Cage; Parasites; Fish; Prevalence; Sanity
