Toxicological and Histopathological Responses of African Clariid Mud Catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Buchell, 1822) Fingerlings Expose to Detergents (Zip and Omo)

The toxicological and histopathological responses of detergents on Clarias gariepinus fingerlings was studied. Twenty-five (25) fingerlings were used for each aquarium exposed to four (4) different concentrations of the two detergents (Zip and Omo) and the control group. The fingerlings were exposed to 0.000, 400, 450, 500 and 550 ppm of the two detergents and the experiment was done in duplicate. A total of 400 fingerlings of Clarias gariepinus for each detergent were used throughout the study. The mean fingerlings weight used for the study was 1.7 ± 0.2 g. The mortality data trend of fingerlings exposed to different concentrations of the detergents increased with increasing concentration and duration of exposure. The 96 hours LC50 value of Zip and Omo on C. gariepinus fingerlings were 5.45 and 5.60 respectively. The low LC50 value for the fingerlings exposed to the detergents denoted a high toxicity of the detergents. Zip detergent was slightly more toxic to the test organism. Due to high toxicity of the detergents, careless discharge of effluents of detergents should be prevented, and the Government should sensitize its citizen on the lethal and sub-lethal effects of detergent to the aquatic eco-system. Also, the discharge of detergent effluents into our environment should be discouraged, in order to maintain a healthy aquatic environment.