The parasite prevalence in Clarias gariepinus from artificial and natural habitats in Oguta imo state Nigeria

This study revealed the presence of parasites in the two habitats under study. The endoparasites recovered were found to belong to Cammallanida, Pseudophyllida, and Plagiorchiida taxonomic group. Both habitats were noted to be sparingly infected; however, the natural habitat was more infected than the cultured habitat. The physicochemical parameters assayed in this study of the water and sediment samples from all the locations indicate that the water samples fall within the stipulated range of acceptability by the World Health Organization (WHO). The heavy metal concentrations in fish tissues were also within WHO set limits for the survival of aquatic organisms. However, prolonged consumption of the fish species will have adverse effects since heavy metals can bioaccumulate overtime. By implication, from the current result it may be confirmed that catfish obtained from fish pond is healthier than the uninhabited fish type in relationships of nutrient substances for human feeding. This could be due to the fact different habitat of different species the body pattern varies nutritionally. Findings from this work showed that constant monitoring of water parameters provide insight to the health of fish and aquatic ecosystems as whole. Finally, it can be inferred from the results of this study that for consumers purchasing the products in large quantities on a regularly basis, a public health hazard will definitely exist especially from natural catfish where pollution is more pronounced as a result of human activities. On the other side, no hazard might exist through the consumption of average amount of such fishes since it is within WHO permissible limits.