Parasites are defined as a living organism that lives on another species. In this case your fish. They survive by feeding of the nutrients that your fish have to offer.
Parasites are found in all pond environments however they lie dormant until the conditions are correct to attach to your fish. Parasites are opportunistic and usually infect your fish when there is an opening to do so, for example when your fish are ill or injured and the immune system is not working to its fullest capacity.
With parasitic infestations the pond medic will need to do a mucous scrape to determine and identify which parasite is affecting your fish and treat the specific parasite rather than using a broad-spectrum treatment which can be ineffective.
The majority of parasites that will commonly infect your pond are microscopic and cannot be seen by the human eye.
With parasites the reproduction rate is remarkably high, and your pond will require multiple treatments to irradicate the pests.
