The Effect of Parasitization by Trichodinid Ciliates on the Mortality of Cultured Pacific Fat Sleeper larvae (Dormitator latifrons)

Trichodinidae, a prevalent group of protozoan ectoparasites in aquaculture, cause rapid mortality in fish hatcheries. Despite their significance, knowledge about these parasites in farmed fish in South America, especially in native species that are currently being domesticated for aquaculture, remains limited. This study morphologically characterized the Trichodinid species that are infecting Pacific fat sleeper (<i>Dormitator latifrons</i>) larvae and evaluated their impact on larval rearing. Four pairs of broodstock were induced with GnRHA implants and placed in tanks containing 200 L of freshwater, with a water temperature of 28 ± 1.0 °C and a dissolved oxygen level of 4.00 ± 1.23 mg L^-1, with partial water exchanges being performed daily. The larvae hatched 7 to 8 h after fertilization and were transferred to tanks containing water with the same quality parameters. Twelve hours post-hatching, the presence of <i>Trichodina</i> was observed. Every 24 h, 60 larvae per tank (<i>n</i> = 180 per treatment) were sedated, and larval wet mounts were prepared, air-dried at room temperature, and impregnated with silver nitrate. Infection parameters and daily mortality were calculated. <i>Trichodina</i> was observed to parasitize the pelvic fins, caudal fins, and heads of fish larvae, which showed lethargy and erratic swimming movements. The <i>Trichodina</i> species showed a daily increase in the infection parameters, and a 58% rate of larval mortality was observed at the fourth day post-hatching (dph) in the infected tanks. In captivity, <i>D. latifrons</i> larvae typically survive up to 7 days post-hatching (dph) before reaching their point of no return due to the lack of adequate diet and feeding regimes. However, our study indicates that <i>Trichodina</i> infestation accelerates mortality, causing infected larvae to die more quickly than uninfected ones.