Abstract
The effects of copper and zinc ions on intestinal parasites in freshwater fish Odontobutis obscura were investigated in the laboratory. The survival of the cestode Amurotaenia mogurndae, and the survival and reproduction of the trematode Asymphylodora macrostoma in CuSO4 and ZnCl2 solutions were tested for five days. The copper levels of the CuSO4 solutions were at 0.00 (control), 0.02 and 0.05 mg·l-1, and the zinc levels of ZnCl2 solutions 0.01 (control), 2.83, 3.19 and 3.38 mg·l-1. No significant differences were detected in the survivals of both parasites and the reproduction of Am. mogurndae between the control and the CuSO4 and ZnCl2 solutions. The concentrations of copper and zinc in water from O. obscura's original habitat and in its muscle tissue measured using ICP-AES showed that the metals did not accumulate in the muscle tissue during the experiment, and that zinc was actually excreted.
