First Record of Pseudocapillaria tomentosa (Dujardin, 1845) Moravec, 1987 in Cultured Grass Carp in Basrah Province, Iraq

A total of 110 specimens of cultured grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella (Pisces: Cyprinidae) were collected from three different fish pond stations in Basrah province, during the period from March till July 2007. Postmortem parasitological examinations indicated infection of the grass carp with the nematode Pseudocapillaria tomentosa and this infection occurred only in Faddak fish ponds during all months of investigation. The maximum incidence of infection was 26.6% in April, while the maximum intensity of infection was 8.5 in June. The present finding of this nematodes represents its first record in Iraqi fishes.

Design of floating photovoltaic system for fish pond lighting

The floating photovoltaic panel is increasingly being used. This is one of the ways to reduce temperature rise in photovoltaic panel. The floating photovoltaic panel is used for lighting at the fish pond. A unit of 8-watt lamp for lighting supplied by 1 unit of 50 Wp photovoltaic panel and 1 unit of 12 V/3.5 Ah battery. The heatsink attached to the bottom of the floating photovoltaic panel transfers heat from the panel to the fish pond water. Sensors are connected to Arduino to measure photovoltaic panel output voltage and current, solar irradiance, photovoltaic panel temperature and fish pond water temperature. From the measurement, the voltage generated from the floating photovoltaic panel is 12.71 – 14.71 V and the current is 0.15 - 1.17 A. While the solar irradiance value is 71 W/m2 to 396 W/m2, the surface temperature of photovoltaic panel is 26.9°C - 32.4°C and fish pond water temperature is 27.1°C - 30.2°C.

ROBOT APUNG PEMBERI PAKAN IKAN KOLAM AIR TAWAR BERBASIS ARDUINO

The need for fish is increasing every year. Because it is increasing every year, fish farming must be increased in line with the use of improved fish farming technology. So that it requires an adequate technological structure and mechanization. Based on this background, the arduino-based floating robot for feeding freshwater pond fish is designed to be able to apply technology that is useful in feeding farmed fish. The arduino based floating robot fish feeding freshwater fish pond using Arduino Mega 2560 as its microcontroller, 4 Sharp 2Y0A21 sensors that function to detect pond walls, RTC functions as a timer so that it can feed fish according to the time set on the tool, LCD functions as the information viewer of the tool, the L298N motor driver controls the DC motor and the servo motor functions as the opening or closing of the food valve on the appliance. In the test, the arduino based floating robot fish feeding freshwater fish pond is able to float in water and can feed fish based on the time available on the tool. The Sharp 2Y0A21 sensor as a pool wall detector has a distance reading in the range of 1 millimeter to 10 centimeter. The robot can avoid the pool wall with a span of 3 - 7 seconds, this is influenced, among others, by surging water, wind, sensor response, and DC motors.

Mortality of Clarias gariepinus caused by Aeromonas caviae and nitrite toxicity in a fish farm

In Nigeria, farming of freshwater fish, mainly that of Clarias gariepinus has gained prominence as means of improved protein supply and livelihood. Many farmers suffer untold losses in their bid to make a living from commercial fish production. Among the major causes of infectious disease outbreaks in fish farms are pathogenic bacteria of the genus Aeromonas. This is a case report of outbreak of Aeromonas caviae infection complicated by nitrite toxicity in Clarias gariepinus. Carcasses of 17 African catfish juveniles and two water samples were presented to the poultry and fish clinic of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Jos for investigation. The fishes had been on medication (Fish cure antibiotic +®) for over 5 days with cumulative mortality of 230 out of 2,500 fishes (9.2 %). Necropsy was conducted and samples were taken for microbial analysis and histopathology while water samples were subjected to chemical analysis. Gross lesions were broken barbels, cutaneous depigmentation, branchial pallor, ascites, renal and splenic congestion. Histologically, there was dissociation of hepatic cords, necrosis of hepatocytes with vacuolation and mononuclear cellular infiltrations. Also, there was renal tubular epithelial necrosis with mononuclear and heterophilic infiltration while micro abscesses were observed in the brain. Marked Zenker’s necrosis and edema were seen in the skeletal muscles. Organism isolated from livers and kidneys was identified as Aeromonas caviae and was susceptible to enrofloxacin, furaltadone and florfenicol. Nitrite in fish pond water was 1mg/L. Bath medication with enrofloxacin at 33mg/litre of water for 6 hours treatment per day was done to reduce the mortality. The farmer was advised to change the source of water for the fish pond immediately. It is recommended that to avoid losses in fish farming, farmers should check the quality of water intended for use on fish farms and ensure early health check on fingerlings purchased for rearing.

Physico-Chemistry of Surface Water Impacted by Crude Oil Spills in Bodo/Bonny Rivers, Nigeria

The surface water resources of Bodo/Bonny communities in Rivers State suffers regular pollution of its ecosystem due to increase in crude oil exploration, refining and activities of other industrial establishments operating within the coastal areas of the Ogoniland of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. This have resulted in the wide scale contamination of most of its creeks, swamps and rivers with hydrocarbons and dispersant products resulting in the alteration of the ecological integrity of fragile aquatic systems, bioaccumulation of chemical contaminants by zoobenthos, sediment enrichment, and smothering or asphyxiation of the organisms in water by oil coating, thereby causing death. These conditions have resulted in serious threat to public health and the ecosystems. The study was aimed at determining the physico-chemical characteristics of Bodo/Bonny coastal waters impacted by crude oil spills and their effect on the marine ecosystems. Surface water was collected from 5 stations (BBW1, BBW2, BBW3, BBW4 and LFPW5) with LFPW5 serving as control. Physico-chemical parameters were investigated following standard methods. The results of the physicochemical characteristics of the various sampling points in the dry season showed that pH, TDS and Electrical conductivity values showed statistically significant differences at P < 0.005. pH was slightly acidic in all sampling locations except for the Link fish pond, the values ranged from 6.20–6.40 which was below DPR Limit of 6.5-8.5 for potable water, TDS recorded 43175–57075 mg/L above DPR permissible Limit of 5000mg/L. Electrical Conductivity (EC) values ranged from 54050 -57050 µS/cm. The Dissolved Oxygen, Biological Oxygen Demand, Turbidity, Chloride recorded in this study varied significantly at P< 0.05. Results of the physicochemical parameters of surface water in the wet season fell within the standard limits except for the conductivity that was above the permissible limits. Comparatively the mean pH value of surface river water with Linked fish pond water which served as the control revealed that the Link fish pond water had the highest pH value of 7.9 than the surface river water samples with a pH of 6.4, TDS (60,200 mg/L), Electrical Conductivity (EC) (µS/cm3) followed a similar pattern with the mean EC value of 55,800 mg/L as against 750mg/L for the Link Fish pond water. Temperature recorded 310C as against 300C for the link fish pond while the Salinity (mg/L) of the surface river water was 31.63 mg/L. Dissolved Oxygen was 2.3 mg/L, Biochemical Oxygen Demand values for the surface river water was 0.49 mg/L while the Link fish pond water had 0.3mg/L. These values obtained in this study shows that the spilled oil in the water could impact on species abundance and biomass by depleting and depriving the fishes from available O2 for survival thus resulting in asphyxiation.