Fidelis Bekeh Ada , Kenneth Igbang Sunday

Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Cross River University of Technology, Obubra Campus, Cross River State, Nigeria
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Aquaculture, 2018, Vol. 8, No. 11   doi: 10.5376/ija.2018.08.0011
Received: 20 Mar., 2018    Accepted: 23 Apr., 2018    Published: 11 May, 2018

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.

Ada F.B., and Sunday K.I., 2018, Changes in blood parameters of Clarias gariepinus sub-adults exposed to 2, 4-Dimethyl Amine, International Journal of Aquaculture, 8(11): 77-89 (doi: 10.5376/ija.2018.08.0011)

Herbicide application for the control of weeds in rice fields has come to stay in Nigeria. A herbicide commonly applied is 2, 4-Dimethyl Amine. It became pertinent to investigate its effects on the haematology and possible lethality on Clarias gariepinus. Sub-adults of Clarias gariepins measuring 906.7 ± 39.3 mg in weight 164.7 ± 10.2 mm in length were exposed to different concentration of 2, 4-Dimethyl Amine in a 96 hour bioassay. The physicochemical parameters of the water, behavioural and biological responses of the fish and the haemstological analysis of the exposed fish were evaluated. Mortalities were observed as, LC₅₀ in 24 hours (22.5 mg/L), 48 hours (18.0 mg/L), 72 hours (16.5 mg/L) and 96 hours (15.0 mg/L). Other results showed that temperature of the water was not influenced by the herbicide. The pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature of the water were not statistically different (p>0.05) between control and treatment groups. The conductivity showed differences between the control and the treated groups. Total white blood cells counts and other components of the white blood cells were not significantly (p>0.05) more populated than the non exposed groups. The red blood cells parameters like haemoglobin, mean cell volume, erythrocytes sedimentation rate and mean cell haemoglobin concentration were significantly (p>0.05) lower in exposed groups. This showed that the herbicide had a negative impact on the oxygen carrying ability of the red blood cell.

Clarias gariepinus sub adults; 2, 4-Dimethyl Amide; Haematology; Water quality; Behavioural and biological responses