A survey of ectoparasites of Clarias gariepinus caught from theUniversity of Agriculture Research Fish Farm, Makurdi

Clarias gariepinus caught from University of Agriculture Research Fish Farm, Makurdi were examined for ectoparasites from October – December 2010. Of the one hundred and twenty (120) C. gariepinus examined, 40 (33.3%) were infested and were observed to harbour forty three (43) ectoparasites. Pisciola geometra accounted for 59.1% while Midge larvae accounted for 40.9%. These parasites were observed to occur only on the skin of the infested fish. There was significance difference (P>0.05) in infestation between the sexes of the fish, with male species having relatively higher percentage infection (65.12%) than the female (34.89%). Bigger fishes were observed to have higher ectoparasites than the smaller ones.