ABSTRACT

A study was done on the parasites of Clarotis laticep and Oreochromis niloticus fishes from Imo River. A total of seventy Clarotis laticep and Oreochromis niloticus fishes was purchased from local fishermen at the river. This comprising 40 Clarotis laticep and 30 Oreochromis niloticus were examined for parasite, each from the wild over a period of three months. The fins, opercula, gills, buccal cavity and body were inspected for ecto parasites. Each dissected by making a mid ventral cut from the anal aperture to the position of the heart to expose the internal organs. These organs were inspected one after another for endo parasites using a magnifying glass or microscope where necessary. Diphilobotium niloticus was the most common parasites found in Clarotis laticep and Oreochromis niloticus fishes from the river. The intestine had the highest parasite load among the body parts of the fishes sampled. Fishes not infested with any parasites is 14.3% of the total fish sampled. On the other hand, fishes infested with any parasites from the wild constituted 85.7% of the total fish sampled. Female fishes had more parasites than the male fishes. Bigger fishes of total length (4 1cm and above) and (o.5 kg and above) of weight had more parasite load than the smaller ones in Clarotis laticep and the bigger sized fish total length of (21 cm and above) had higher parasite load but are the same in the weight in Oreochromis niloticus.