Prevalence of Helminth infection in Cyprinus sp from Dal lake of Kashmir valley

The aim of this study which was to determine the parasites of carp Cyprinus spp inhabiting the Dal Lake of Kashmir valley. During the study, a total of 24 common carps were caught in different regions of Dal Lake and investigated parasitologically. On examining 11 fish were found positive to harbour cestodes Adenoscolex and Bothriocephalus from the intestines; trematode Diplozoan from gills and acanthocephala Pomphorhynchus from Intestine. Highest prevalence was shown by cestodes (93.9%) followed by trematodes (4.1%), and acanthocephalan (1.8%) in succession. Maximum mean intensity and abundance has been shown by Adenoscolex and Bothriocephalus (18.3 & 8.4) while the trematode Diplozoan was on the 2nd rank (0.81% & 0.37%). On the other hand, the least intensity and abundance was shown by acanthocephalan Pomphorhychus (0.36 & 0.16). The parasitization showed a significant positive relationship with size of the fish, while very small fishes were nearly free of parasites, this exhibit a correlation with feeding habits of the fish.