Toxic Effects of Cupper (II) Chloride Nano-particles (CuCl2-NPs) on Haematological Parameters of Heteroclarias Juvenile from a reputable fish hatchery in Ughelli South Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria

The presence of chemical pollutants in surface water potentially harm aquatic fauna abundance due to their persistence, bio-accumulation and bio-magnification in living tissues. Hence, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the toxic effects of copper (II) chloride nano-particles (CuCl2-NPs) on haematological parameters of Heteroclarias juveniles from a reputable fish hatchery in Udu Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria using appropriate standard methods. Physicochemical parameters of water of the experimental fish exposed to CuCl2 nanoparticle revealed an increase in Temperature from 25.79±0.12 oC to 30.36±2.42 oC and TSS (5.17±0.15, 27.59±1.47) but DO decrease significantly (p<0.05) from 4.61±0.13 to 3.03±0.05; PCV (42.17±1.87%, 3.37±0.98%); RBC (4.01±0.03 x 106/µL, 0.56±0.01 x 106/µL); Hb (15.12±0.20 g/dL, 1.11±0.09 g/dL) in Control (T0 – 0.00mg/L) and Treatment 4 (T4 – 20.00 mg/L), respectively. The result of haematological parameters of fish exposed to CuCl2 nanoparticles showed that the values of PCV, RBC, Hb and MCV of exposed Heteroclarias decreased significantly (p< 0.05) as the concentration of CuCl2 and exposure time increased. However, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the increase in values of MCH and MCHC as the concentration of CuCl2 and exposure time increased. However, there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the increased values of WBC, LYM, PLT and NEUT. The combined effects of increased temperature, TSS and decreased DO values can make Heteroclarias more susceptible to disease and parasitic infection. Results indicated that bioassay of CuCl2-NPs and impaired water quality could have some adverse effects on the physiological parameters of Heteroclarias