PARASITES OF ANEMONFISHES (POMACENTRIDAE, AMPHIPRIONINAE) IN THE GULF OF NHA TRANG, SOUTH CHINA SEA, VIETNAM

We surveyed parasites of 4 anemonfish species (Pomacentridae) from near Nha Trang, South China Sea, Vietnam in the years 2016-2017: Amphiprion clarckii (53), A. polymnus (58), A. perideraion (15) and A. frenatus (10). Altogether, these 4 fishes supported 11 parasite species, with 3-8 parasite species per fish species. The survey revealed 2 species of copepods (Hatschekia sp. 1, Hatschekia sp. 2), 6 digeneans (Macvicaria sp. 1, Macvicaria sp. 2, Aponurus piriformis, Aponurus laguncula, Hysterolecitha nahaensis, Bivesicula sp. metacercariae), 2 nematodes (Spirocamallanus istiblenni, Hysterothylacium sp. J4) and 1 acanthocephalan (Echinorhynchus sp.). Hysterolecitha nahaensis and Spirocamallanus istiblenni were the most abundant and prevalent parasites. These parasites reached a prevalence of 64 and 90% with an intensity of infestation of 1-6 and 1-37, respectively. Two ectoparasite taxa were recovered: Hatschekia sp. 1 (a single specimen found in A. clarckii) and Hatschekia sp. 2. Among them, Hatschekia sp. 2 was the most frequent and abundant species in A. polymnus (prevalence 96.6%, intensity of infestation 0-51).