Tongue Eating Louse - cymothoa exigua (Mouth Parisite)

[zmk1962]

Hey Raiders,

Not so much an ID question, more an answer really.  But I'm sure we've all seen them  often in Yakkas and Taylor. Also I'm absolutely convinced these critters were the inspiration for the alien movies. Anyway, I've always wondered what they were ... here's the facts:

Cheers Zoran

Edited January 1, 2022 by zmk1962

[Blackfish]

Not sure if its a "Cymothoa exigua" because it says it causes the tongue to fall off and becomes the new tongue. What a nasty critter.

I think it may be a different type as the CSIRO have done a study and it doesn't seem to knock the fish around to bad.

https://www.publish.csiro.au/MF/MF9750355

Happy to be corrected though. 🙂

 

[Green Hornet]

Creepy little buggers they are.

Its not uncommon to lose a luderick a couple of seconds after hooking up and wind in to find a "doctor" pinned to your hook.

[Rebel]

One mean looking critter.

Reminds me of an old girlfriend. Ooop's did I say that. Sorry.

Cheers.

[Restyle]

yeah they are funny things, id say 50 odd % of yakkas got them too in some areas always wondered how they'd do for bait though, never put one on a hook

On a slightly unrelated note on parasites, my mate caught a yakka, killed it for strips and a bunch of small bugs flea sized started crawling out from the yakkas gills & mouth 

[masterfisho7]

I have only seen in blackfish 

[Yowie]

2 hours ago, Restyle said:

On a slightly unrelated note on parasites, my mate caught a yakka, killed it for strips and a bunch of small bugs flea sized started crawling out from the yakkas gills & mouth 

That is because the female is pregnant with dozens of babies and when she is attacked/poked/prodded, she splits her abdomen and the little babies crawl out, ready to swim off and attack some other fish.

When I see that happening, I squash them all. 🤣

Yakkas are the main ones that are attacked via the mouth, also trevally at times.

There are other species that are attached to the pectoral fins of whiting and tailor, though not that common.

Another species attaches itself under the throat of small red bream.

[Bryant fish]

I wouldn't be able to eat anything I seen with something like that 

[noelm]

It's pretty frustrating when Yakkas are hard to get and you finally hook one, but all you get is the "doctor"......

[bessell1955]

Hey, Rebel, I think we may have had the same girlfriend!

[Remote River Man]

I have seen a similar thing in the mouths of black piranhas in Guyana, in South America. Pretty gross, but didn't affect the fish's eating quality - black piranhas are quite a large, tasty species.