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Post by mgderf on Aug 14, 2022 13:06:54 GMT -5
Sir, A friend of mine stopped me the other day to ask me a question that I did not have an answer for. She said she was fishing when she caught a catfish, don't believe she mentioned which sub-species, that was covered in what she described as "tiny little snails without the shells". She said the "snails" were white(ish) in color, about 1/4" long, and completely covering the catfish.
They were so freaked out about it that they didn't think to take pictures. They just cut the line and let it go.
She knew I liked to fish so asked my advice. I've never seen anything even close to what she described.
Any ideas what they could have been? If witnessed again, what course of action would you recommend? Save(freeze) it for DNR? Throw it away? Release it?
Edit- I will inform my friend of your suggestions. I assume it would be o.k. to freeze the fish.
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Post by morrison on Aug 16, 2022 10:57:04 GMT -5
Upon speaking with a biologist, I was informed that the "snails" were most likely a parasite. While a parasite is typically found in the meat, an increase in temperature may result in the parasite coming to the surface of the skin. A fish that is under stress is more likely to have parasites than a truly healthy fish. The frequency of the parasite in several fish would be utilized to address something (water contaminates,etc.) is causing the fish in the area to have higher levels of stress resulting in them being prone to parasites.
In the future, photos would be great but the actual fish would be better. Information pertaining to the number of fish in the area having the parasites would be important and assist in evaluating the circumstances.
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