tape worms in trout

sniper83

how common is this lads? Caught a few trout last week fly fishing on a local river and kept a nice 1.5lb brownie that was riddled with tape worms when I gutted him!!:eek: first time I ever came across this in a fish. Hope its not a sign that the water quality is bad or polluted. :mad:

thefisherbuy

hi,
Happened to my local river but, i saw a fish not dead but in the river bed lieing there, of course i netted him and then all blood came out of his behind with like a worm thingy too! i rang the ifi to see as i was sh*ting my pants as i thought it was something serious! But he took the fish to the lab and he said it was a tape worms that come in before spawning and come out after spawing so if i were you dont take any fish until may... I saw another there saterday same thing! its really weird alright...

Bio Mech

sniper83 wrote: »

how common is this lads? Caught a few trout last week fly fishing on a local river and kept a nice 1.5lb brownie that was riddled with tape worms when I gutted him!!:eek: first time I ever came across this in a fish. Hope its not a sign that the water quality is bad or polluted. :mad:

Are you sure they were tape worms? Were they small round worms or larger flattened worms? Its not usually a sign of pollution just a sick fish. I wouldn't eat an infested one btw. The risk of infection/infestation yourself is low but the worms can secrete various toxic chemicals into the fish that should be avoided.

sniper83

thefisherbuy wrote: »

hi,
Happened to my local river but, i saw a fish not dead but in the river bed lieing there, of course i netted him and then all blood came out of his behind with like a worm thingy too! i rang the ifi to see as i was sh*ting my pants as i thought it was something serious! But he took the fish to the lab and he said it was a tape worms that come in before spawning and come out after spawing so if i were you dont take any fish until may... I saw another there saterday same thing! its really weird alright...

Ya it would put you right off, don't worry it will be a while before im even tempted to take one home again!

Bio Mech wrote: »

Are you sure they were tape worms? Were they small round worms or larger flattened worms? Its not usually a sign of pollution just a sick fish. I wouldn't eat an infested one btw. The risk of infection/infestation yourself is low but the worms can secrete various toxic chemicals into the fish that should be avoided.

Didn't eat him, using him as bait in a mink trap so its not going to waste.;)

yep pretty sure..here's a few pictures, don't look if you eating your lunch:pac:

Bogwoppit

Tapeworm alright.
It's just something that happens, some systems are more prone to it than others but it a natural thing.
You can sometime feel them in the belly of the fish, they get a bit bloated if it's bad but generally you can't tell.
I'd advise against eating and make you wash your hands after handling but the risk is fairly small.

I've had a lot of fish like this over the years.

Bio Mech

Yeah defo a tapeworm alright. Probably Diphyllobothrium. They can infect humans if you consume uncooked infested meat. Agree on the handwashing too their eggs are tiny and easily ingested. My advice...dump it. Don't put it in the mink trap. Its best removed from the river. As above I have had a few like that in the past

Worst infested fish I have ever caught was a mackerel. I was filleting him to make a flapper for tope fishing and when I cut the flesh it literally exploded with roundworm. The nematode Anisakis simplex. I was working in nematology at the time and send a sample to a colleague for ID. The flesh of he abdominal cavity was literally crawling with them many many thousands. Twas lovely.