Evaluation of Haematological Parameters of Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) Grown in Biofloc System using Three Different Carbon Sources

Biofloc Technology utilizes the addition of carbon sources to fish culture systems to allow the growth of bacteria, as well as aggregation of dead organic matter in the fish culture systems thereby permit continuous use of water. The use of biofloc for C. gariepinus culture has evaluated the growth, feed conversion and water quality. This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of carbon sources on the haematological parameters of catfish in the biofloc system. The biofloc system was set-up at the Biological garden of Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina. A total of two hundred (200) fingerlings catfish with an average weight of 8.45 ± 1.6 g were randomly distributed in eight (8) plastic tanks at stocking densities of 1g/m3 . Three carbon sources namely; corn flour, rice bran, and sorghum flour were used to support the flocculation and growth of catfish in the system. The fishes were fed uniformly with a commercial diet ad-libitum. After six weeks rearing period, the survival of fish in all treatments was not significantly different (p <0.005); control (94%); corn-flour (90%), sorghum flour (98%) and rice bran (96%). Total weight gain was significantly higher (p<0.005) in corn-flour biofloc treatment. The blood sample collected for haematological analysis showed a significant difference (p˂ 0.05) in the mean blood parameters with respect to park cell volume (PCV), white blood cell (WBC), and haemoglobin (mg/l) values. The PCV of the rice bran treatment (18.00%) was significantly lower (p˂0.05) compared with other treatments. White blood cell (WBC) was significantly higher in rice bran treatment (p ˂ 0.05). The result indicated that corn-flour and sorghum could be used as the carbon source in the biofloc system with no effect on haematological parameters. Keywords: Biofloc, Carbon sources, Catfish, Hematology