Catfish Research Articles

Kinematic analysis of swimming ontogeny in seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

Swimming has been investigated in multiple species, but few studies consider the establishment of swimming through ontogeny. This study describes the establishment of cyclical swimming in Dicentrachus labrax, a marine fish from cold, temperate waters. The data were compared with results from previous studies on two subtropical freshwater catfish species (Clarias gariepinus and Corydoras aeneus). The three species have different modes of locomotion each during their adult stage (anguilliform, subacarangiform and carangiform). The swimming of Dicentrarchus labrax was recorded with a high-speed video camera (500 fps) from 0 to 288 hours and from 960 to 2496 hours post-hatching. Three indices, i.e. coefficient of determination (r²), coefficient of variation (CV), and Strouhal number (St), were used to investigate the establishment and efficiency of swimming. Important differences in the timing of swimming establishment were observed between the seabass and the two catfish species. The two catfish species display a sine-shaped swimming mode immediately or soon after hatching, and the efficiency of movement substantially improves during the first days of life. For seabass, however, establishment of swimming is slower during the same developmental period. These differences may be related to a faster developmental rate in the catfishes that allows them to swim rapidly in an intermediate regime flow and to develop the required morphology to establish efficient movements earlier.

Cadmium Toxicity Induced Changes on Antioxidative Enzymes Level in Fresh Water Catfish Channa Punctatus (Bloch)

Aquatic ecosystem of India is being affected by various heavy metals. In present, cadmium contamination in aquatic organism as well as its accumulation in food chain has become a global environmental concern. Cadmium exposure to fishes alter the various enzymatic and histopathologic profiles. Such alteration can be act as a bioindicator for aquatic environment. The present study has been planned to observe the effect of cadmium chloride on commercially important fish _Channa punctatus _(body weight 27.04±0.19 g and length 16.7±0.20 cm). For Invitro assessment of cadmium effect in term of enzymatic and nonenzymatic assay have been done. Fishes were acclimatized and treated separately with different concentration of CdCl2. Dissected out the liver and homogenized in 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). Biochemical analysis was done for lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and protein estimation. The results were shown as mean and standard error (Mean± SEM). The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was analysed and significantly applied for the Dunnett test for multiple comparison of groups against the control which determine the significant differences among the groups. This study is for academic importance and will provide valuable information regarding cadmium toxicity. At the same time, it will address the public health issue as for as consumption of the fishes from contaminated water is concerned.

A comparison of tag retention and mortality from two tagging methods for internal tag placement in Channel Catfish

AbstractObjectiveDocumenting the movement of Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus through telemetry, where a transmitter tag is surgically implanted in the fish, can provide valuable insight into the species' spatial ecology and habitat use. However, since fish in the order Siluriformes can expel foreign objects such as tags from their body cavity, the utility of telemetry technology may be limited for Channel Catfish. This study aimed to determine (1) how quickly Channel Catfish reject tags that were surgically implanted into the body cavity, (2) if surgical implantation of transmitter tags causes mortality, and (3) what surgical method is best to minimize tag rejection and/or mortality.MethodsThree surgical trials were conducted on Channel Catfish (n = 24) using two tag implantation methods: a nontethered method, in which the tag was freely implanted into the body cavity, and a tethered method, where the tag was attached to the pectoral girdle. Fish were observed in the lab for 30 days for trials 1 and 2 and 225 days for trial 3 following tag implantation.ResultNo complete tag rejections occurred during any of the three experimental trials. However, all five tethered fish experienced mortality during trial 3 (58–221 days postsurgery). Necropsies indicated that the tethered tagging method led to septicaemia infections and internal lacerations from the tether, which were not observed in the nontethered fish. Tags in the nontethered fish were in the process of being absorbed into the intestinal tract, which over time might have led to tag rejection.ConclusionWhile rejection is possibly the end point of the nontethered tagging method, our results suggest it is nevertheless the better tagging method for Channel Catfish given higher survival.

Accumulation, tissue distribution, health hazard of microplastics in a commercially important cat fish, Silonia silondia from a tropical large-scale estuary

The current knowledge regarding the presence of microplastics (MPs) in the digestive tracts of fish, particularly the non-edible parts, provides limited assistance in assessing the risk to human health and establishing guideline values for policy-making purposes. Therefore, we conducted the first investigation into MPs within the commercially significant catfish species S. silondia, form a major tropical estuary assessing their accumulation, characteristics, and associated risks in various tissues, particularly the consumable muscle. A sum of 132 MPs were identified, and the mean abundance of MPs were 7.40 ± 4.12 item/DT, 3.20 ± 1.69 item/gill and 2.60 ± 1.65 item/muscle found in digestive tract (DT), gill and muscle of the fish, respectively. The strong relationships of MPs among three different tissues (y = 0.6069x - 22.69, R2 = 0.7589) indicated the pathways and how MPs were influenced by the physiology of organisms. The prevalence of MPs in fish muscle demonstrated their trophic transmission to humans. Moreover, fishes with higher weight had higher MPs in their gill, and DT. The dominant type, color and size of MPs were fibrous (89.67%), violet (41%) and < 0.5 mm sized (94%), respectively. The high percentage of fibers suggests that they might have come from ropes, fishing nets or sewage. FTIR chemical composition analyses of microplastics (MPs) identified three primary polymer types: PET (44.5%), PE (33.3%), and PP (22.2%) in fish. These polymers are commonly associated with packaging materials, household wastes and plastic pipes. Contamination level assessment by CF (CF = 2.76) and PLI (PLI > 1) indicated moderately to highly contaminated fish with MPs ingestion. While the complete understanding of the direct negative effects of microplastics (MPs) on human health remains elusive, their presence in estuarine fish raises concerns for both human and ecosystem health. The findings will be useful for assessing the hazards to human health from exposure to MPs and for creating effective risk management plans to reduce those risks.

Systematic Observation Of New Piscean Ptychobothriidaean Tapeworm From Mastacembelus Armatus At Marathwada Region (M.S.) India

Present study deals with Biosystematics of Piscean Ptychobothriidaean tapeworm Circumoncobothrium chavani Sp. Nov. collected from intestine of freshwater catfish host Mastacembelus armatus. (Lacepede, 1800) from different places of Marathwada Region (M.S.) India. The worm comes closer to all known species of the genus Circumoncobothrium (Shinde, 1968) in general topography of organ but differs due to having length of worm, scolex triangular, rostellum disc like, Mature segments broader than long, number and shape of testes, Ovary is bilobed.

Cadmium Toxicity-Induced Changes in Antioxidative Enzyme Levels in Freshwater Catfish Channa Punctatus (Bloch)

Present study has been planned to observe the effect of Cadmium chloride on the locally available economically important edible fish _Channa punctatus _(body weight 27.04±0.19 g and length 16.7±0.20 cm). To assess the effect of cadmium in terms of enzymatic and non-enzymatic assays, laboratory studies have been done. Fish were acclimatized and treated separately with concentrations of 35 mg/L and 70 mg/L of CdCl2. The livers were dissected out and homogenized in 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). Biochemical analyses were done for lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and protein estimations. The results were shown as mean and standard error (Mean ± SEM). The analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were analysed and significantly applied for the Dunnett test for multiple comparisons of groups against the control, which determined the significant differences among the groups. This study is of academic importance and will provide valuable information regarding cadmium toxicity. At the same time, it will address the public health issue as far as consumption of fishes from contaminated water is concerned.

Molecular marker-based species identification of carnivorous freshwater catfish (Wallago attu) from river Chenab, Pakistan

DNA barcoding, one of several procedures for identification of organisms, is an effective way to identify fish species. DNA-based identification is reliable and accurate to characterize an organism at different stages of its life cycle. Several reference libraries were used to link species by adding data to report species. For the sequencing of undetermined species, a customized primer was used. An unknown specimen was identified using a cytochrome c oxidase 1 primer. In this study, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 was used to identify Wallago attu at the molecular level. After sequencing, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene was fragmented into 380 base pair pieces. A molecular-based identification approach, which comprised a neighbor-joining tree to estimate divergence, was used in addition to morphological identification to identify and authenticate the species under investigation. The COI barcodes were morphologically identified and matched with reference sequences of anticipated species. The GenBank databases received species reports with the entry number MT476360. The study's findings suggested that DNA barcoding is a viable and successful method for fish identification and for establishing a reliable DNA barcode reference library for these species.

How does temperature rise affect a freshwater catfish Rhamdia quelen? A proteomic approach

Outside of scientific circles, climate change is a hotly debated topic due to all its consequences. Changes in the temperature can affect aquatic organisms and it is important to understand and to detect earlier signals. This study aimed to analyze how a Neotropical fish species responds to temperature increases, using proteomic analysis as a tool. For this, fish of the species Rhamdia quelen, male and female, were exposed to two temperatures: 25 °C and 30 °C. After 96 h, the animals were anesthetized, euthanized and the liver was collected for proteomic analysis. Using freely available online software and databases (e.g. MetaboAnalyst, Gene Ontology and UniProt), we define the altered proteins in both sexes: 42 in females and 62 in males. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD046475. Differences between the two temperatures were observed mainly in the amino acid metabolic pathways. The cellular process and the immune response was altered, indicating that effects at lower levels of biological organization could serve as a predictor of higher-level effects when temperature rise affects wildlife populations. Thus, we conclude that the increase in temperature is capable of altering important cellular and physiological processes in R. quelen fish, with this response being different for males and females.

Uso de troncos submersos por peixes de igarapés no Baixo Rio Negro, Amazonas

Abstract Fish make use of different microhabitats, such as submerged trunks, branches, foliage, crevices and stones, with different purposes, in search of shelter, refuge, food and even as a substrate for reproduction. The present study aimed to increase the knowledge about fish species that make use of the micro-habitat of trunks on the banks of streams in the protected area known as the Tupé Sustainable Development Reserve, Lower Negro River region, Amazonas. The data analyzed come from two days of collections, carried out in the falling water periods of 2020 in the Central stream. Six species, Pseudanos trimaculatus, Tatia strigata, Trachelyopterichthys taeniatus, Trachelyopterichthys sp. "negro", Ancistrus dolichopterus and A. hoplogenys were captured inside the submerged trunks. The order Siluriformes was the most abundant and represented (83.33%) of all individuals. The most abundant species were T. strigata (N=46), followed by A. dolichopterus (N=35). Although most species belonged to the order Siluriformes, it is worth mentioning the sampling of one Characiformes, P. trimaculatus (N=1). In addition, an individual of A. hoplogenys was found in association with eggs deposited and fixed within a trunk, displaying protective behavior. The record of these species inside trunks may be associated with their foraging site, refuge and parental care to increase the chances of survival of the offspring. Therefore, the conservation of these microhabitats is important for the maintenance of some fish species.

Length and Weight Relationship, Condition Factor, and Morphometric Characteristics of Eleven Freshwater Fish Species in Koto Panjang Reservoir, Indonesia

This study analyzes the species composition, length–weight relationship (LWR), condition factor, and morphometric and meristic characteristics of eleven freshwater fish species in Kota Panjang Reservoir, Indonesia. Fresh specimens were collected from September 2023 to February 2024. Results show that among the sampled species, two belong to Order Anabantiformes, three to Order Siluriformes, and six to Order Cypriniformes. The Order Siluriformes has the lowest species composition, with Hemibagrus wyckii at 3.09%, while the Order Cypriniformes has the highest, with Barbonymus schwanefeldii at 15.25%. The LWR coefficient b ranges from 1.693 to 3.151. Of the species studied, only Hemisilurus heterorhynchus (b = 2.174), Clarias teijsmanni (b = 2.046), Anabas testudineus (b = 2.375), Labiobarbus festivus (b = 2.305), and Rasbora argyrotaenia (b = 1.693) fall outside the expected range of 2.5 < b less than < 3.5. One species exhibits a positive allometric growth (+), seven show a negative allometric growth (−), and three display an isometric growth (I). Fulton’s condition factor (Kc) averages between 0.73 ± 0.15 and 4.96 ± 0.63, indicating morphological variation. The allometric condition factor (Ka) ranges from 0.87 ± 0.18 to 26.25 ± 4.05, reflecting differences in resource availability and competition. Relative condition factor (Kn) values range from 1.00 ± 0.09 to 2.51 ± 0.55, indicating good growth. Morphometric analysis shows that Rasbora argyrotaenia has the smallest average total length, head length, and body depth, while Hemibagrus wyckii has the largest. The results provide new data on the LWR, condition factor, and morphometric characteristics of eleven selected freshwater fish species in Kota Panjang Reservoir, Indonesia, and offer up‐to‐date information on the remaining species in the study area. These findings could have a significant impact on species stock assessments and help identify priority species for domestication.

Isolation and Identification of Pathogenic Bacteria from Commercially Marketed Fish in Wukari, North-Eastern Nigeria

Abstract Pathogenic bacteria that are part of the natural microflora can be found in aquaculture products. Microbial pathogens associated with fish can be transmitted to humans who consume or handle the fish. This study aimed to isolate human pathogenic bacteria present in the gills, intestine and skin of apparently healthy and spoil fishes. Tilapia (Oreochromisniloticus) and Cat fish (Clariaslazera) were collected from Wukari old market and Yam market of Wukari Nigeria. Bacteria were isolated from the fish gill, intestine and skin. The growth properties of distinct isolates on specific culture media were used to differentiate and characterize them. Pathogenic bacteria were recovered from various fish species that appeared with different features. The following human pathogenic bacteria were isolated; Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The total bacteria count value ranges between 0.12 x 105 to 3.52 x 105 for the tilapia fish and 0.12 x 105 to 3.96 x 105 cfu/ml for cat fish. The identification revealed that Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was the most abundant pathogenic bacteria and also present in the initial water samples collected. Presence of Staphylococcus aureus and Eshcherichia coli is attributed to contamination of the fish samples by man through handling and processing. These enteric bacteria in fish serve as indicator organisms of faecal contamination and or water pollution. Their presence also represents a potential hazard to humans’ life. The isolates were higher from Yam market samples compared to Wukari old market.

Status of Fish Biodiversity in the Sindphana River Dam Near Shirur Kasar, District Beed, Maharashtra, India

Fish biodiversity studies were undertaken from January 2012 to December 2012 to census commercially important fishes in the Sindphana Dam. The present paper deals with the variety and abundance of freshwater fishes in the Sindphana Dam near Shirur Kasar Dist. Beed [M.S] India. The results of the present investigation reveal the occurrence of 44 fish species belonging to 7 orders, 15 families, and 26 genera. Among the collected species order Cypriniformes was most dominant constituting 50% followed by order Siluriformes constituting 18%, order Perciformesconstituting 18 %, orders Osteoglossiformesand Synbranchiformes constituting 5% and orders Mugiliformesand Beloniformes constituting 2 %of the total fish species. Fish biodiversity indices species richness 44 in the total number of species (N0), 3.73 in Margalef’s index (R1), and 0.97 in the Menhinick index (R2). Species diversity was 0.47 in the Simpson index (), 1.16 in the Shannon-Weiner index (H’), 2.98 in abundant species (N1), and 2.80 in very abundant species (N2). Species evenness was 0.42 in (E1), 0.21 in (E2), 0.17 in (E3), 0.95 in (E4), and 0.97 in (E5). Bangladesh J. Zool. 51(2): 155-164, 2023

A chromosome-level genome of electric catfish (Malapterurus electricus) provided new insights into order Siluriformes evolution.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42995-023-00197-8.

In silico study of myomere muscle proteins extracted from Indian walking catfish reveal Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity – A potential bioactive peptide

Clarias magur (Hamilton, 1822), is an endemic Asian freshwater catfish known as the walking catfish is one of the most popular fish in India and Asian subcontinents due to its nutritional value and better taste. The fish has traditionally been used for medicinal purposes. The present study was undertaken to study the proteome profile through Liquid Chromatography based Mass spectroscopy (LC/MS) to elucidate the protein profile the catfish. In the present study muscle protein extract was prepared from C. magur, digested by trypsin for LC/MS analysis for peptide retrieval. Out of a total of 468 peptides retrieved from LCMS data, 23 peptides showed bioactivity for Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibition using bioinformatic approaches. ACE enzyme is expressed on the surface of lung cells and acts as a receptor for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to gain entry into host cells. ACE inhibitors can have implication in entry of virus into host cells and reduction of hypertension by effectively reducing vasoconstriction. Traditionally synthetic compounds used for ACE inhibition pose side effects. Fish derived ACE inhibitory bioactive peptides can prove to be a natural, less toxic therapeutic sources.

Biodiesel production from waste cat fish oil using heterogeneous catalyst from cat fish born: A viable waste management approach, and ANN modeling of biodiesel yield

Biodiesel from vegetable or animal feedstock can serve as a suitable source for renewable energy. This study utilized heterogeneous catalyst obtained from fish bone for biodiesel production from raw cat fish waste (CFW) oil. The CFW oil yield obtained using wet reduction extraction method was 96.85 %. The heterogeneous catalyst was prepared by calcination at 600 °C, for 4 h and characterized using SEM-EDX. Catalyst characterization showed suitable elements that can improve the catalytic activity. Physiochemical characterization results showed that viscosity of CFW oil (48.782 mm2/s), reduced to 9.391 mm2/s in the produced biodiesel. Similarly, after transesterification free fatty acid (3.593 mg/KOH/Kg) and acid value (7.186 mg/KOH/Kg) of CFW oil reduced to 1.48 mg/KOH/Kg and 2.96 mg/KOH/Kg, respectively, in the biodiesel. Finding from the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectrum of the raw CFW oil showed the presence of –OH and was assigned to the axial deformation of water molecule. However, the –OH group disappeared in the FTIR spectrum of biodiesel due to the transesterification process. This observation is consistent with the findings for moisture contents of raw CFW oil (0.073 %) and biodiesel (0.00 %), which showed disappearance of water after transesterification. The biodiesel yield was further modeled using three algorithms (Scaled conjugate gradient, Bayesian regularization and Levenberg maraquardt) of the artificial neural network (ANN). It was evident that the predictions from the Scaled conjugate gradient algorithm were comparable to the experimental responses. Finally, transesterification of raw CFW oil using heterogeneous catalyst from fish bone, was a cost-effective approach for biodiesel production.

Ecotoxicological insights: Effects of pesticides on ionic metabolism regulation in freshwater catfish, Mystus keletius

Fish maintain their body fluid ionic and osmotic homeostasis using sophisticated iono-/osmoregulation mechanisms through gills ionocytes. Pesticide-induced ionic imbalance in fish has been recognized as a valuable tool to determine its toxic effects. Acute exposure to synthetic and organo-chemical pesticides on the regulation of ionic (Na+, Ca2+, P) metabolism in freshwater catfish Mystus keletius was evaluated. Fish were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations (mg/l) of selected pesticide for a period of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Results indicated that chemical pesticides - Impala and Ekalux - evoked adverse toxic effects on selected tissues compared to organo-chemical pesticide tested. Statistical analysis of the summative data using two-way ANOVA was significant (p-value<0.001). Variations in the cellular parameters analysed were attributed to the physiological acclimatization of fish to the pesticide exposed. Based on the results it is concluded that organic pesticides may be preferred for rice field application considering safety aspects.

Comment on ‘A standardized terminology of spines in the order Siluriformes (Actinopterygii: Ostariophysi)’ by Ballen and de Pinna (2021)

Abstract Homology is the foundation of any comparative evolutionary study, and as structures previously considered homologous are found to be convergent, and vice versa, terminology needs to be changed to reflect homology. The dorsal- and pectoral fin-spines of catfishes (order Siluriformes) are morphologically diverse and ornamentations adorning the anterior and posterior edges of the spines have regularly been used in systematic studies of the group. Building on Vanscoy et al. (2015), Kubicek et al. (2019) showed that some of the ornamentations of siluriform fin-spines previously considered homologous result from two different developmental pathways, and presented a terminology based on the homology of these structures. In their recent paper, Ballen and de Pinna (2021) proposed a new terminology for various catfish fin-spine structures, including fin-spine ornamentation. However, homology was not considered and, instead, their terminology is based on the general shape of the ornamentation to allow for ‘unambiguous use’ in various applications, including the placement of fossil fin-spines into well-defined clades of catfishes. We show that the terminology proposed by Ballen and de Pinna (2021) is problematic as it confuses non-homologous conditions into the same state and thus undermines the usefulness of fin-spine ornamentation as a character in comparative evolutionary studies of siluriforms.

Characteristics of Capture and Culture Fishery Production in Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria

The study analysed capture and culture fish production in National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research (NIFFR) adopted villages in Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria for the year 2020. A total of 170 respondents from 300 respondents in NIFFR-adopted villages were selected through a random sampling technique. Data for the study were collected through a structured interview schedule. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Percentage, Mean, standard deviation and Regression analysis). Results revealed that almost half (44.1%) of the respondents were involved in capture fishery while 32.4% were involved in both capture and culture fish. Respondents output mean for captured cat fishes were ( =1414.36), tilapia ( =1000.29) and lates ( =600.83), while culture catfish was ( =515). It was also observed that 29.4% of the respondents involved in fish culture practices had better income than 9.4% who only rely on capture fishery. The study showed that capture fishery formed the main occupation of people and produce the highest number of fish marketed in the study communities. The government at all levels should assist fishers financially to practice fish farming and do more in regulating fishing activities on the water bodies to sustain capture fisheries.

Evaluation of different commercial feeds on Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Striped cat fish) for optimum growth performance and attractibility of feeds.

Attractibility of fish feed was found higher in A8 over the other treatment. Average body weight and daily weight gain found more in A1 compared with other the present study showed that Dayal Aqua gold found better result as compared other commercial brands.

Heavy metal concentration in blood and selected tissues of cat fish from Kwalkwalawa River, Sokoto

Fish is a cheap source of omega- 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids for humans. However, the presence of toxic heavy metals in water can be detrimental to both fish and humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of heavy metals in the liver, kidney and gills of cat fish obtained from Kwalkwalawa River, Sokoto. Water, sediments, blood and tissue samples of (10) cat fish (Clarias gariepinus) species caught from Kwalkwalawa river were analysed quantitatively for the presence of zinc, copper, lead, chromium and cadmium using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Bioaccumulation of these heavy metals was estimated in these organs. Results showed that lead concentrations in the water was significantly higher (p &lt; 0.05) compared to the sediment sample. Also, copper and lead accumulated most in the liver and kidney when compared with that observed for the gills. In conclusion, lead and cadmium levels in the samples were above WHO certified limits hence the concentration of metals in this water should be monitored periodically.