Solomon S.G. , Ataguba G.A. , Okomoda V.T. , Solomon P.

Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria.
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Aquaculture, 2015, Vol. 5, No. 29   doi: 10.5376/ija.2015.05.0029
Received: 15 Jul., 2014    Accepted: 18 Aug., 2015    Published: 07 Oct., 2015

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Solomon S.G., Ataguba G.A., Okomoda V.T. and Solomon P., 2015, Relationship Between Somatic, Gonadal Characteristics And Semen Quality In The Male African Catfish Clarias Gariepinus Broodstock, International Journal of Aquaculture, 5(29): 1-5

Testes quality assessment of African Catfish broodstock was investigated using fifteen male broodstocks of Clarias gariepinus with mean weight of 570.8 g + 2.04. Testes were removed and weighed and semen from the testes were released into a petri dish and measured in ml using a plastic syringe. 1:50 dilution ratio with potassium chloride was used as the diluent to facilitate counting of the spermatozoa. The highest sperm count was 9.7 x 1010 spm/ml and the least was 3.8 x 1010 spm/ml, also highest semen volume of 1.3 ml was recorded as against 0.21 ml which was the lowest, percentage motility of the semen varied between 57.1% and 93.7%. Correlation between % motility and sperm count was significant (P = 0.00007 and r = 0.845) which indicates a strong positive correlation between the two parameters. Correlation between weight of testes and volume of semen was also very significant (P = 0.0000 and r = 0.978. Correlation between body weight and weight of testes was significant (P = 0.0049 and r = 0.684) and strongly positive while a significant correlation was observed between volume of semen and the weight of broodstock which was also a strong positive correlation (P = 0.0053 and r = 0.679). Volume of semen can be predicted using: Vol of Semen = - 0.219 + 0.000102 Wt. of. Male + 0.356 Wt. of Testes (r2 = 95.7% (Adjusted = 94.9%), P = 0.000) and % Motility can also be predicted from the equation: % Motility = 39.0 + 7.4 Vol of Semen + 9 x10-10 Sperm Count - 11.6 Wt. of. Testes (r2 = 79.2% (Adjusted = 73.5%), P = 0.000).

Sperm quality; Percentage motility; Sperm count; Semen Quantity