Effects of different synthetic hormone preparations on fertilization and hatching in Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822)

The effect of different synthetic hormonal preparations on fertilization and hatching in Clarias gariepinus was investigated. The fish were injected with three different synthetic hormones namely: ovaprim, ovulin, and carp pituitary extracts (CPE) designated as treatments A, B, and C respectively. These were all replicated three times in a complete randomized design. The eggs were monitored until fertilization and hatching were completed. The results of the experiment were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). From the results, treatment B had the highest percentage fertilization (79.4%) and hatchability (80.0%), which were significantly different (p>0.05) from both treatments A and C. Treatment C had the least values of 67.7% and 62.30%. There were no significant differences (p>0.05) amongst the water parameters of the culture units examined during the experimental period. The results of this study showed that all the three hormones yielded good performance but ovulin was the best preferred. Keywords: Ovaprim, ovulin, fertilization, hatching, C. gariepinus.