Identification and parasite infecting cultured shrimp, Penaeus indicus in the Chabahar area, southern Iran

Parasites infecting different tissues and organs of cultured shrimp Penaeus indicus were investigated. We sampled three farms each running three ponds from July to October 2003 in Chabahr, Sistan and Baluchestan province. Sampling was done once every 15 days and totally 330 shrimps were investigated. Samples collected during the first 45 days were from feeding trays and over the next months cast net was used to gather samples. Five live specimens taken from each pond were transferred to the lab and samples of gills, pleopods (second pair), intestine, stomach, hepathopancreas and muscles (if they had ulcers on cuticule) were examined under binocular microscope. The most incidences belonged to four groups of peritrish protozoa including Zoothamnium, Epistylis, Vorticella and Acinata. No parasitic worm such as trematodes, nematodes, cestodes and digestive protozoa such as gregafine was seen in the cultured shrimp. The research indicated that outbreak of epicommensal protozoa coincided wit.....