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<br />Recovery goals developed for humpback chub in 2002 indicated actions should be taken to <br /> <br />minimize the adverse effects of parasites on humpback chub in the Little Colorado River. One <br /> <br />objective in that document, was to identify the level of tapeworm control that would be <br /> <br />necessary to remove harmful impacts on humpback chub and to develop an Asian tapeworm <br /> <br />control program (USFWS 2002). Evaluating the use ofPraziquantel to remove Asian tapeworm <br /> <br />is the first step in this process. Although temporary effects of tapeworm infestation and <br /> <br />quantification of tapeworm loads can be achieved using Praziquantel, the potential of large scale <br /> <br />treatments to control Asian tapeworm in natural systems is limited. The use of Praziquantel will <br /> <br />likely be restricted to bath treatments to remove tapeworms from fish prior to translocation or to <br /> <br />alleviate short term impacts and increase growth rate. Treatment of individual fish to remove <br /> <br />tapeworms without holding may be possible. Fish captured during routine monitoring could be <br /> <br />treated to remove tapeworms by inserting a Praziquantel solution down the throat with an eye <br /> <br />dropper. The efficacy and safety of these methods still need laboratory evaluation. The long <br /> <br />term effectiveness of such methods will also depend the rate of tapeworm re-infestation. Our <br /> <br />field results demonstrate that tapeworm loads in endangered fish can be removed and accurately <br /> <br />quantified in the field for monitoring purposes without dissection, provided that adequate water <br /> <br />quality can be maintained in treatment containers for a 24-hour period. <br /> <br />Acknowledgements <br />I thank Scott Rogers, Teresa Hunt, Anne Kretschmann, Randy Vanhaverbeke and Dewey <br /> <br />Wesley for assistance collecting fish. John Rinne and Quent Bradwisch provided laboratory <br /> <br />research facilities and research specimens. Pam Sponholtz and Shaula Hedwall assisted with <br /> <br />permitting issues. Bill Persons and Brian Clark provided helpful reviews of this manuscript. <br /> <br />These experiments were conducted with support from the Arizona Game and Fish Department <br /> <br />under permit number TE821577-0. <br />