Sperm quality of african catfish (Clarias gariepinus) broodstock fed on pellet supplemented with fish oil

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the effect of pellet supplemented with fish oil on sperm quality of broodstock Clarias gariepinus. Male broodstocks of African Catfish, Clarias gariepinus were divided into two treatments. Treatment A was fed on one experimental diet (fish oil pellet containing 6% fish oil) and Treatment B was fed on one control diet (non-fish oil pellet). The feeding experiment occurred for 6 weeks. The broodstocks were fed twice daily by 1.5% of body weight. Sperm quality was measured by sperm count method using emocytometer during initial (0 days) and final experiment (after 6 weeks). Sperm concentration per ml, total sperm count and milt volume expressed for each treatment was done to compare the sperm quality between both treatments. Result of the study showed that there was an increase in sperm concentration per ml of broodstock in Treatment A from 1.282 ± 0.422 x 1010 to 1.359 ± 0.420 x 1010 whereas in Treatment B, sperm concentration per ml decreased from 8.958 ± 3.424 x 109 to 7.047 ± 2.370 x 109 . Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in sperm concentration for both treatments. The milt volume expressed during initial experiment of both treatments was not significantly different with 4.305 ± 2.493 ml and 4.532 ± 3.261 ml for Treatment A and Treatment B respectively. Treatment B showed higher milt volume after 6 weeks 3.870 ± 3.305 ml compared to Treatment A 2.643 ± 2.609 ml. During the initial experiment, average of total sperm count in each broodstock was 5.377 ± 2.811 x 1010 and 4.186 ± 2.889 x 1010 for Treatment A and Treatment B respectively. After 6 weeks the total sperm count in Treatment A was higher (3.433 ± 2.883 x 1010) compared to Treatment B (2.246 ± 1.534 x 10 10 ). As a conclusion, the sperm quality in broodstock of Clarias gariepinus was not significantly affected by pellet supplemented fish oil possibly because of the concentration of fish oil was not optimum. Increasing the concentration of fish oil might be able to affect the sperm quality significantly. Further study need to be done to look into this aspect. In addition stress might be a factor that can reduce the sperm quality of broodstock during the conditioning process.