The impact of Neoechinorhynchus buttnerae outbreaks on productive and economic performance of the tambaqui Colossoma macropomum (Cuvier, 1818) reared in ponds

The study aimed to evaluate the impact of Neoechinorhynchus buttnerae on the productive and economic performance of tambaqui reared in ponds. Two fish farms were selected, the first where fish were infected (FI) and the other with non-infected fish. They were recorded information of the farms as biometric, age, initial weight and handling of fish. It was found that FI fish presented lower weight with evident loss of body mass and presented body deformities, reflecting a condition factor 300% smaller than FNI fish. The infection by acanthocephalans caused an impact of more than 200% on growth anddirectly affected on the gross income, presenting a difference between FI and FNI farms higher than 1000%. It was concluded that the impact may be even greater considering both income decrease and elevate production costs due to the parasite infection.