ABSTRACT

A study of helminth parasites of Clarias gariepinus, Oreochrom,s niloticus, Chiysichthys nigrodigitatus and Malapterurus electricus was carried out from fish landings in Imo River basin Owerrinta from May to August 2013. A total of 100 fishes were examined for infestation by helminth parasites. The live fish were transported in plastic 1bowls containing river water and ice, covered with nylon netting to the veterinary laboratory in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. The fish were dissected along the abdominal region from the anal opening to the heart region with the aid of a surgical blade. The contents of the stomach and intestines were scraped into a petri-dish containing brine solution and viewed under a light microscope. Afterwards, the organs were cut open, put into petri dishes and thoroughly searched for parasites using a microscope with a magnification of x400 (objective X lens). 35 specimens of 0. nioticus were examined. All the examined specimens were infested giving the prevalence of 100%. 33 specimens of C. gariepinus were examined and 32 were infested giving the prevalence of 96.97%. 17 specimens of C nigrodigitatus were examined and 11 were discovered to be infested giving a prevalence of 64.71%. 15 specimens of M. electricus were examined, 8 were infested giving a prevalence of 53.33%. Generally, all parasites encountered in this study belong to six classes which are nematoda, cestoidea, trematoda, acanthocephala, branchiura and hirudinea. Females had more worm load than the male fish with a prevalence rate of 82.86% and 73.33% respectively. There were significant differences in prevalence of parasites with respect to size (length and weight) of fish species.