Spawning response of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822), Claridae: Teleost) exposed to different piscine pituitary and synthetic hormone

Abstract

Spawning response of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) exposed to different piscine pituitary extracts and synthetic hormone was evaluated. Nine African catfish gravid females were divided in to three treatments and injected with hormones intramuscularly. Data on spawning fecundity, fertility rate, and hatchability rate and induction hours were generated. The highest mean in spawning fecundity (9731.6eggs/g) was observed in groups injected with pituitary extract of African catfish followed by the group injected with pituitary extract of Common carp (Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758) (5,813.8eggs/g). However, the spawning fecundity/g body weight/female did not show significant difference (p = 0.073) among the groups. The mean hatchability rate was high (73.3%) in groups injected with pituitary extract of African catfish followed by the group injected with pituitary extract of Common carp (63.5%). The use of pituitary extract from African catfish is more effective for induction as compared to Common carp pituitary and synthetic hormone.