Evaluation of Fecundity, Fertilization, Hatching, and Gonadosomatic Index of Exotic Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) and Native Clarias macromystax (Gunther, 1864) under Semi-Arid Conditions of Nigeria

Abstract

The study evaluates the hybridizations between two African catfish, C. gariepinus and C. macromystax, using artificial reproduction. Fecundity and gonadosomatic index were assessed, and growth performance at different developmental stages was evaluated. The results indicated that both species possess a similar gonadosomatic index. The parent C. gariepinus possesses significantly (p < 0.05) higher male reproductive quality than C. macromystax. Fecundity was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the female parent of C. macromystax and lower in C. gariepinus. The highest fertilization rates and hatching rates were achieved in the hybrid cross of ♀C. macromystax × ♂C. gariepinus (♀Cm × ♂Cg) which also recorded the lowest deformed larva rate. Survival rates at the larval stage were more than 80%, with the highest record of survival in the hybrid ♀Cm × ♂Cg. However, survival rates in the fry stage were lower than 70%. The hybrid cross (C. macromystax × C. gariepinus) outperformed the parental cross of C. macromystax but was not significantly similar to the parental cross of C. gariepinus. The study revealed the potential of the hybrid ♀C. macromystax × ♂C. gariepinus, and hybridizations of ♀C. macromystax × ♂C. gariepinus (♀Cm × ♂Cg) are indeed possible and proved to have a better growth and survival rate under semi-arid conditions, which would contribute significantly to the improvement of C. macromystax production in captivity.

Aspect of Reproductive Biology of Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus (Lacepède 1803) in Asejire Reservoir, Nigeria

“…Similarly, there have been several bodies of work on different fishes like the Sex Ratio, Gonadosomatic in Diet Composition and Fecundity of African Pike, Hepsetus odoe in Eleyele Lake, Nigeria by Kareem et al 10 and similar studies on Parachanna obscura 11 , Synodontis Shall 12 , Labeo coubie 13 , Clarias gariepinus and Clarias macromystax 14 . However, there is less work on the bionomics of C. nigrodigitatus especially in Asejire Reservoir.…”

Effects of different latency periods on fingerlings production using Clarias gariepinus (African mud catfish)

“…There is a decrease in the viability of eggs during hatching due to over ripping, poor hatchability, fertilization and survival as a result of wrong stripping periods and these results in loss of quality in gonadal products resulting in deformed fry and fingerlings. Observing latency has been a problem for breeders due to haste and demand for income from sellers of fingerlings (Esa et al 2023).…”