HAEMATOLOGICAL STUDIES OF Clarias gariepinus RAISED WITH DIET SUPPLEMENTED WITH CHITIN AND CHITOSAN EXTRACTED FROM SNAIL (Achatina fulica) SHELL.

ABSTRACT

Fish are a vital component of the global food supply, and as the world's population continues to grow, it is imperative that aquaculture practices remain sustainable and efficient. Fish haematology plays a critical role in evaluating overall species health and vitality particularly within aquaculture settings where multiple factors impact physiology of fish. A 10 weeks experiment was conducted using Chitin and Chitosan extracted from snail shell to supplement basal diet at various inclusion levels and determine haematological parameters of the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus (juveniles). Under a completely randomized experiment, six iso-nitrogenous (40% crude protein) diets were formulated Negative Control basal diet (0% chitin or chitosan), treatment 2 (3% chitin inclusion), treatment 3 (6% chitin inclusion), treatment 4 (0.03% chitosan inclusion), treatment 5 (0.06% chitosan inclusion) and treatment 6 positive control (0.8% terramycine inclusion). Equal size catfish juveniles stocked at 32 fish per tank in three replicates, water quality parameters in the range of pH 6.5-8.5, DO >4 mg/L and temperature 24-32°C were maintained and fish were fed twice daily (8am and 4pm) to satiation throughout the experimental period. Treatment 1 had the best haematological result. Although it was not significantly different (P>0.05) from other treatments in white blood cell (WBC): 4.05±1.06, Red Blood Cell (RBC): 3.72±0.12, Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV): 54.40±3.54, Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH): 21.60±1.56, Haemoglobin (Hb): 11.50±0.14, packed cell volume (PCV): 33.25±1.20 and Eosinophils (EOS): 1.15±0.07. Haematological parameters results were within the recommended ranges for fish health.