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102364

Prevalence of helminth parasites of Clarias gariepinus and Tilapia zillii in relation to age and sex in an afrotropical stream

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Last updated: 01 Jan 2025

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Abstract

Fish is clearly regarded as the cheapest source of protein for man and other livestock, but fish farmers are constrained by massive mortality of fry and fingerlings due to helminth parasite invasion. Prevalence of helminthic parasite infection of two (2) commercially important and easily-culturable fish species of Nigeria (Clarias gariepinus and Tilapia zillii) was studied in relation to sex and fish age (length and weight). 51 samples of Claris gariepinus and 34 samples of Tilapia zillii in Chanchaga River were caught by the use of a trawling net over a period of 24 months (September 2014 and October 2016). Four (4) classes of parasites were encountered between Clarias gariepinus and Tilapia zillii as the two species were infected with similar parasites: Monogenea, Cestode, Nematodes, and Acanthocephala, although nematode parasites were by far the most abundant. The infection rates of both Clarias gariepinus and Tilapia zillii with helminth parasites were high as their percentage infection was 88.2 % and 91.2, respectively. Females were slightly more infected than the males for both fish species, although the difference was not significant (P < 0.05). Fishes of higher lengths and weight for both Clarias gariepinus and Tilapia zillii were more prevalent in parasitic infection (higher % infection) than their counterparts with lower lengths and weights (lower % infection). There were no striking differences between Clarias gariepinus and Tilapia zillii in terms of parasite representation, sex, and age parameters. This phenomenon may not be unconnected to the fact that both fish species shared similar environmental conditions, dietary composition, and feeding habits. This study recommends a change of feeding habits and dietary composition with age and immune system state in order to reduce the infestation of parasites with the goal of increasing field yield efficiency.

DOI

10.21608/ejabf.2020.102364

Keywords

Nigeria, Parasites, prevalence, Clarias gariepinus, Tilapia zillii

Authors

First Name

Amaka

Last Name

Mgbemena

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-

Affiliation

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Email

amakamgbemena@gmail.com

City

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Orcid

-

First Name

Francis

Last Name

Arimoro

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

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Email

francis.arimoro@futminna.edu.ng

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Innocent

Last Name

Omalu

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

-

Email

omaluicj@futminna.edu.ng

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Unique

Last Name

Keke

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

-

Email

n.keke@futminna.edu.ng

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

24

Article Issue

5

Related Issue

15467

Issue Date

2020-08-01

Receive Date

2020-06-29

Publish Date

2020-08-12

Page Start

1

Page End

11

Print ISSN

1110-6131

Online ISSN

2536-9814

Link

https://ejabf.journals.ekb.eg/article_102364.html

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https://ejabf.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=102364

Order

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Type

Original Article

Type Code

103

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries

Publication Link

https://ejabf.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Prevalence of helminth parasites of Clarias gariepinus and Tilapia zillii in relation to age and sex in an afrotropical stream

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Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023