PREVALENCE OF GASTROINTESTINAL HELMINTH PARASITE OF PARACHANNA OBSCURA AND HETEROTIS NILOTICUS AT RIVER ANAMBRA, ANAMBRA STATE

Parasitic infections are one of the factors limiting fish in the wild for sustainable productivity. The study was carried out to determine the gastrointestinal helminth parasite associated with Parachanna obscura and Heterotis niloticus and their prevalence concerning sex and size (length and weight). Sixty (60) fishes (30 H. niloticus and 30 P. obscura) were bought from fishmongers from the Anambra River. They were examined through dissection and observation of the alimentary canal under the microscope's objective lens. The overall prevalence of the parasites in Heterotis niloticus was 83.33%. The parasites recovered were Tenuisentis niloticus 16 (53.33%), Sandonella sandoni 8 (26.67%) and Capillaria species 1 (3.33%). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth among the sexes (p> 0.05). However, the parasite species had a significant difference in prevalence (p< 0.05). In P. obscura, the overall prevalence of the parasite was 73.33% and only one parasite species, Procamallanus species was recovered. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth among sexes (p= 0.096, p>0.05) and fish size. Further studies are required to consider the probable zoonotic transmission of parasitic diseases from fish. It concluded that the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth parasites of these species is high and this may affect the fish quality.