Toxicity and Behaviour of Clarias Gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) Fingerlings subjected to Piscicidal Plant Extract of Aidon Tetrapleura Tetraptera

Abstract

The study was carried out to investigate the toxicity of water extract of Tetrapleura tetraptera fruits on catfish (Clarias gariepinus) fingerlings. The experiment was carried out under laboratory conditions for 96 hours with 30 fingerlings treated with each of the six graded concentrations (0g/300ml, 15g/300ml, 30g/300ml 45g/300ml, 60g/300ml and 75g/300ml) of dried fruits of Tetrapleura tetraptera. The study showed that the higher the concentration of the extract the higher the mortality of fingerlings while the toxicity of the extract reduced with time. Fifty percent mortality of the fingerlings was recorded at 24, 20 and 16 hours for 45g/300ml, 60g/300ml and 75g/300ml concentrations of extracts respectively. The result also showed that there were significant differences (P < 0.05) among the graded concentrations in relation to mortality of fingerlings while the LSD revealed that 45g/300ml, 60g/300ml and 75g/300ml concentrations of extract were not significantly different (P>0.05) in relation to mean mortality of fingerlings. The treated fingerlings were observed to show
erratic swimming and loss of balance at high concentrations of extract. It is recommended that more studies be carried out on other parts of Tetrapleura tetraptera and their effect on different fish species.