Fish Found With Strange Tongue-eating Parasite in its Mouth in Texas Park

An unaware worker at Galveston Island State Park on Texas' western Gulf Coast found a fish bearing a surprise.

How to Get Rid of Isopods

Here, males are normally seen on the gills before moving to the mouth. This change may only occur if the fish's gills are infested by more than one isopod, allowing the female to be impregnated by the male.

If the parasite hasn't killed the fish before it completes its life's goal - reproduction - it slips away, leaving the unfortunate fish suffering without a tongue.

Quarantine is the first line of defense (with close observation of new fishes), mechanical removal with forceps is sometimes possible, osmotic shock (freshwater or saltwater dips) is sometimes effective, organophosphate-based water treatment is occasionally necessary, and diflubenzuron is one option too.

When contemplating isopod infection treatments, keep in mind that certain isopods may detach from their hosts and and thrive independently for long periods of time.

For more news, updates about isopods and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!