More likely to have parasites
- Thread starter Anthony Nolet
- Start date
Interesting question but it probably does not matter where the fish hang out at with parasites being free swimming and all.
Fish eaters most likely. Fish transmit parasites from fish to fish easier than insect to fish, but how can you be sure they are eating ONLY insects?
I'm not sure they only eat insects I'm just using that as a contrast to the fish who eat stuff of the bottom. But I was mainly talking about small minnows for food
I would most definitely assume fish can transmit parasites to fish by ingestion much easier than any other prey item
So you think the more carnivorous fish would be more likely to have parasites than the bottom feeder? And by bottom feeder I mean like a sucker fish not a catfish
I think any piscovorous fish regardless of species is more likely to get parasites from other fish, as well as higher levels of Mercury, PCBs or other contaminants. The species isn't so much as important as the diet of the individual fish. For instance, trout will eat a variety of things - the Brown Trout and Brook Trout is clearly a piscivore, however as juveniles they may prefer insects, worms, mollusks or small crustaceans and not begin feeding on other small fish until 12" or so. The Rainbow trout will eat fish, but prefers insects and crustaceans when available. You can see the difference in the way their dental hardware looks compared to the Brown or Brook.
In this case, younger Browns and Brooks would be less likely to have fish-born parasites.
Another instance may be Smallmouth bass - in areas lacking a healthy supply of crayfish, they tend to be more piscivorous or eat more insects, and in some cases birds or mammals are on the menu. That exact same fish in an area with an abundant supply of Crayfish will feed exclusively on them and ignore baitifish most of the time.
What I was saying earlier about "How can you tell?'' is exactly why I explained this in such a manner.
Make sense?