Why Lie? Fish Can Contract Lice.

As kids, many of us had the incredibly annoying experience of acquiring head lice. But did you know that lice are found in the fur and feathers of almost every mammal and bird species? For humans, they live in hair or clothes. But what about animals without fur or feathers? Can naked, bald fish get lice? The answer is both yes and no. Yes, fish do get lice, but they are very different from the lice you might have had in third grade.   Your childhood lice were insects, but the lice found in the ocean are not. Like crabs and lobster, oceanic lice are crustaceans. Argulus, or fish louse, is a small lobster-like animal that lodges on the skin of Cypriniformes fish, like koi or goldfish. Fish louse can be observed with the naked eye. The fish that have been infected will get red spots and will start behaving differently, like rubbing against stones and jumping above the water. Argulus can be a major threat to fish health. Heavy infestations of this parasite can cause significant morbidity and mortality.    If you happen to have a koi pond in your backyard, it is wise to put diseased fish in quarantine outside the pond...