General survey on metazoan parasites infecting Oreochromis niloticus L. (Teleostei, Cichlidae) from two different fish ponds systems in southern Benin

Abstract

The present study provides an outset of information on parasites infection in Oreochromis niloticus from fish farm and a tributary of the Oueme River in the Benin southern region. The work was carried out between August and December 2015. A total of 171 specimens of different sizes and body weight were examined for the occurrence of external and internal parasites. The recorded fauna was composed of Monogenea, Digenea and Copepods for ectoparasites and Myxosporea, Cestoda, Nematoda and Acanthocephalan for endoparasites. The general prevalence was of 42.69%. The prevalence of females reached its maximum value of 53.85% whereas the highest prevalence of males was found to be still to 39.47%. Cestoda, Monogenea, Digenea and Nematoda revealed very low abundance while the highest is recorded with Cestodes. There was a significant difference (χ2 = 71.627, df = 9, P