Location and development of larvae of Contracaecum rudolphii Hartwich, 1964 (Nematoda: Anisakidae) in experimentally infected asps Leuciscus aspius (Linnaeus, 1758) (Pisces: Cyprinidae)

Laboratory-reproduced and bred asps were experimentally infected with Contracaecum rudolphii larvae, either directly or with previously infected copepods. In the fish exposed to larval infection, the intensity and prevalence of infection were noticeably higher than in the group exposed to copepods. The course of larvae development was similar in both groups. In the larvae measuring ca. 1000 μm in length, the gastrointestinal tract with a developed ventriculus, ventricular appendix and intestinal caecum was clearly visible. The mouth was surrounded by three lips. Over the 10-week experimental period, slightly-coiled larvae surrounded with a thin theca but no encysted larvae were found in the fish exposed to larvae. On the other hand, spirally-stranded and encysted larvae were observed after the 7th week in the fish exposed to infected copepods. The results demonstrated that in the experimentally infected asps, the intensity and prevalence of infection as well as the location of the larvae in a fish depended on the type of invasive material applied.