Prevalence of Helminth Infestation in Clarias Batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758) with Season and Size Variation in West Bengal, India

Parasitic infestation is a big problem in aquaculture industry. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, pathology and morphometric measurements of helminth parasites of Clarias batrachus from two districts of West Bengal, India, during February’ 2016 to January’ 2017. For this purpose, 262 Clarias batrachus, were randomly selected and examined. The fishes were classified based on season and length. Seasonal studies demonstrate that the overall prevalence of the collected helminth parasites was highest during the rainy, followed by the winter and summer seasons. The highest infestation of helminth parasites is in length groups of 20-25 cm, compared with other length groups (Pu003c0.05). Five species of helminths viz., Orientocreadium batrachoides, Emoleptalea proteopora, Bovienia indica, Lytocestus indicus, Proteocephalus sp. were identified during the study. Different types of histopathological changes were observed. Environmental factors and feeding habitat influence the seasonality of parasitic infection either directly or indirectly.