International Journal of Aquaculture, 2015, Vol.5, No.29, 1
-
5
1
Research Report Open Access
Relationship Between Somatic, Gonadal Characteristics and Semen Quality in
The Male African Catfish
Clarias Gariepinus
Broodstock
Solomon S.G. , Ataguba G.A., Okomoda V.T., Solomon P.
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria.
Corresponding author Email
International Journal of Aquaculture, 2015, Vol.5, No.29 doi
Received: 15 Jul., 2015
Accepted: 18 Aug., 2015
Published: 24 Sep., 2015
Copyright © 2015
Solomon
et al., 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.
Preferred citation for this article
:
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
Abstract
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).
Keywords
Sperm quality; Percentage motility; Sperm count; Semen Quantity
Introduction
Catfishes of the family Claridae comprise the most
commonly cultivated fishes in Nigeria, since the culture
of
Clarias gariepinus
through hypophysation was
initiated in Western Nigeria in 1973, the procedure has
been widely practiced throughout Nigeria thus leading to
increase of farm-raised catfishes from the 1980 ’s to
date (Adewumi and Olaleye 2011).
The availability of semen with desirable quality is one
of the critical factors necessary to increase the efficiency
of artificial fertilization of fish species. Increased
fingerling production must be coupled with increased
survival through production that involves the use of
male broodstock with highly viable sperm and high
milt volume. In fish reproduction under controlled
conditions attempts are made to obtain sperm of highest
quality and hence to produce the highest possible
numbers of good quality seeds, fish sperm quality
however is highly variable and depends on various
external factors such as feeding regime, the quality of
feed, and the rearing temperature of the male, (Canyurt
and Akhan, 2008). Common practices in hatcheries
such as transportation, handling, cleaning, use of
chemicals, and problems with water quality are stressors
that may negatively influence reproduction (Billard et
al.
,
1995). These factors affect fertilization success in
artificial reproduction commonly used for aquaculture.
The most common parameters used to evaluate sperm
quality are motility rate, motile duration and fertilization
ability. The percentage of motile sperm is significantly
related to fertilization capacity in catfish,
Clarias
gariepinus
(Rurangwa et al., 2001). Viable sperm is an
essential component of any successful animal production
operation and the success of reproduction process is
dependent on a supply of high quality gametes
(Cruz-Casallas et al
.,
2005). Spermatozoa motility is
the most commonly used criterion to evaluate sperm
quality. Most hatchery operations are not successful
due to many factors which include immotile sperm
(Bozkurt et al.,
2006), therefore the research seeks to
