The local reservoir just downstream of me has a good population of yellow perch. Many have a tape worm. The seriousness varies greatly.




So my questions are,

If I stock yellow perch from a clean source, are they likely to get them too?

Has anyone else seen this?

If so, any way to fight it?

we had tape worms in bass at a local pond. Thought it was because there might have been some sewage system dumping in upstream. A college professor of fish biology told us the pelicans and other birds mostly migratory can spread these in a lake. He said if cooked would not present a problem to humans. Although, I asked him what he would do and he said throw the Large mouth bass away, he said he would not eat them himself.

Maybe I'm over-simplifying but Tape worms are not in the meat, only the digestive system.. I don't see this as a "meat" issue..

If you stock them, you have 100% odds of introducing that parasite into your fishery. We don't know the odds of introducing tapeworms if you don't.

Buy fish from a reputable hatchery and stock the right numbers of the best fish for several reasons...tapeworms are just one of those reasons.

I guess the reason I've never considered this an issue is because birds of several species are commonly know to carry tapeworms..
We can't control the birds for the most part and I don't know that any studies have been done to see where that chain of events originates from but it's very common in most fisheries I've been around. I need to do more research I guess.

I can’t legally move fish in Colorado. Don’t plan to. I would have to buy from a clean source, but if the ducks are going to move the parasites to my pond, maybe I shouldn’t pay for yellow perch. They are actually pretty expensive where I am.

Snipe,
The only info I have from my local fisheries biologist is that they can’t harm humans, and I eat all the perch I catch. Not worried about that. Don’t want to feed my biomass to a parasite if I can help it.

Thanks for the reply’s.

Endoparasites are common in most all species of freshwater fish..
It's a natural progression due to the nature of their environment and diet. The only time a tapeworm could possibly upset us is if you eat them raw.. We don't eat the guts, but other critters/fish do.. the cycle continues. Most wild turkeys are loaded with this same parasite, as are many, many bird species. They crap around the pond..again, cycle continues.
This is really very common and only affects fish if they become extremely stressed beyond all normal circumstances.

Brad, I will add it's ALWAYS good practice to obtain from a good, proven, healthy source...That's just being thorough, proper and an attempt to maximize our efforts which is good practice.
I've moved fish from body to body, likely several folks do/have. The problem can me more than something as simple as a tapeworm though.
We should all practice good form to keep the balance as "neat and clean" as possible. What mother nature does is beyond our control in most cases.