Water quality assessment and bacteriological evaluation of fishpond in Ilorin
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Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Aswan University Journal of Environmental Studies (AUJES)
Abstract
Good water quality is essential for a productive aquaculture system and to safeguard the
health of the consumer. We assessed the quality of fishpond water in Phase 1, Mubo-Royal
Valley fish farm in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. Water samples were collected in the 1st and 3rd
weeks of fish breeding from three earthen and two concrete fishponds. The bacteriological and
physicochemical parameters of the samples were determined in line with standard methods.
Results showed that the pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen (DO) values were within the
recommended range of the National Environmental Standard and Regulations Enforcement
Agency (NESREA). However, higher chemical oxygen demand (COD) values above the
NESREA recommended range were recorded in the 1st and 3rd weeks of sampling in earthen Pond
1 and Pond 2, respectively. The Nitrate (NO3
2-
) and phosphate (PO4
2-
) contents of all sampling
ponds were within the acceptable values of NESREA in the 1st week of sampling. While
significant (p < 0.05) increases in NO3
2-
and PO4
2- were observed in earthen ponds in the 3rd
week. Copper and iron (mg/l) values were higher than NESREA recommended range, while lead
and chromium values were within the range. Bacterial loads varied with the period of sampling
with significant (p < 0.05) increases in the population of heterotrophic bacteria and Salmonella Shigella in the 3rd week of sampling. The nine bacterial genera isolated were Pseudomonas sp.,
Micrococcus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Salmonella sp., Escherichia coli, Enterobacter sp., Proteus
sp., Streptococcus sp. and Bacillus sp. All the isolates were present in earthen and concrete ponds
except Proteus sp. and Streptococcus sp. were absent in concrete ponds. Pseudomonas sp. had
the highest frequency of occurrence while Streptococcus sp. had the lowest. Regular monitoring
of water quality parameters is recommended to prevent potential risks associated with potential
pathogens in fishponds