Gastrointestinal parasitic infection and nutritional composition of Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) from selected fish farms in Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the impact of gastrointestinal parasites on the nutritional status of C. gariepinus from some selected fish farms in Kaduna metropolis. A total of one hundred and twenty (120) samples of C. gariepinus were purchased live from three different farms across Kaduna Metropolis represented as Farms A, B and C. Out of the 120 samples of C. gariepinus examined for parasites, 30 (25.0%) were positive for parasites. Four species of parasites were identified Bothriocephalus sp. (33.3%), Procamallanus sp. (26.7%), Paracamallanus sp. (23.3%) and Polyonchonthrium sp. (16.7%). There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the rate of infection of male and female fish with parasites. Out of the 51 female fish examined, 21 (41.18%) were infected with parasites, while 13 (18.84%) out of the 69 male fish examined were infected. There was a general decrease in the proximate composition of the parasitized fish when compared with the unparasitized fish. It can be concluded that the presence of parasites in the fish had a negative impact on its nutritional status as it decreased the Crude Protein (36.65 to 32.35), Moisture (76.90 to 75.20), Fat (7.13 to 5.91) and Ash (2.11 to 1.90). This study shows that the presence of parasites in C. gariepinus had impact on its nutritional status. It is recommended that there should be effective control measures and good culinary practices to prevent the spread of intermediate hosts of the parasites.