Prevalence of protozoan parasites in some freshwater fishes of Dangana Lake Lapai, Niger State Nigeria

Abstract

Prevalence of protozoan parasites in some freshwater fishes of Dangana Lake Lapai were studied. A total of 184 fish from four (4) species were examined for ecto-parasites in the lake which were Clarias gariepinus (55), Tilapia zilli (51), Oreochromis nilocticus (41), and Leptocypris nilocticus (37). The parts of the fish that were examined are gills, skin, and fins. In all, 5 different protozoan parasites were isolated from the fish samples examined. The overall prevalence of protozoan parasites in sampled fishes was 84.76%. The percentage incidence revealed that Clarias gariepinus recorded 23.36%, Tilapia zilli, 22.28%, Oreochromis nilocticus, 20.10%, and Leptocypris nilocticus and 19.02% incidence. Five (5) species of protozoan parasites were encountered namely Ichthyobodo sp Gyrodactylus sp. Trichodina sp Caprina sp. and Microsporideans sp. The study revealed high protozoan prevalence from the study area