Gonad Development in the Female Nigerian Clarias Gariepinus Burchell 1822

Abstract

Some studies have established some physiological parameters for the African sharp tooth catfish Clarias gariepinus in some regions in the world which have been found to vary considerably from what is observed in the Nigerian species. This study indicates that C. gariepinus matured five months after hatching in the female at approximately 700 g. This however differs from a previous study of wild C. gariepinus which reported that the age of first maturity is 1 year, when the body weights of the fishes are approximately 108 g for females.