Microbial flora of the gastro-intestinal tract of Clarias gariepinus caught from river Dandaru Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

The study reports the microbial load and diversity in the gastro-intestinal tract of Clarias gariepinus caught in River Dandaru, Ibadan. A set of adult samples of Clarias gariepinus was caught from the river Dandaru, Ibadan. Determination of microbial loads and characterization of microorganisms present in the gut region of the captured Clarias gariepinus were carried out using standard microbiological procedures. The fungi isolated were Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium atrovenetum and Penicillium expansum while the bacteria isolated were Pseudomonas fluorescens, Bacillus alvei, Aeromonas hydrophilia, Bacillus megaterium, Flavobacterium rigense and Enterobacter aerogenes. The microbial counts were; total plate count 6.5 x 10⁵ CFUs/g, total coliform count 1.9 x10⁴ CFUs/g, total anaerobic count 4.2 x 10² CFUs/g, total faecal coliform count was 2.2 x 10³ CFU/ml, total fungi count 3.0 x 10³ spore/g.

Keywords: Microbial Load,Catfish gut, Microbial diversity, River Dandaru