Parasitic Infection, Condition Factor, and Length-Weight Relationship of Sarotherodon melanotheron in Brackish and Freshwater Bodies in Coastal Accra, Ghana.

This study investigated the parasitic infection, condition factor (K), and length-weight relationship of Sarotherodon melanotheron in six aquatic environments in Ghana. A total of 583 fish samples were examined for parasites, and the results showed that 90.8% of the fish were infected with at least one parasite species. The most prevalent parasites were Tetrahymena sp. (63%), Entamoeba histolytica (46%), and Gyrodactylus sp. (40%). The condition factor (K) ranged from 1.44 to 2.04, with a mean value of 1.73. Acanthocephalus sp., Acanthosentis sp., Bothriocephalus sp., Capillaria sp., and Camallanus sp., turned out to have a strong correlation with the condition factor of the fish. A significant negative correlation was found between the condition factor and parasite intensity (r = -0.65, p < 0.05). The length-weight relationship was described by the equation W = aL^b, where b ranged from 2.3 to 3.1, indicating positive allometric growth in some populations and negative allometric growth in others. Kpeshie samples had higher parasitic diversity (2.43) as compared to others and the least (1.05) for Vaughan Dam. The study highlights the importance of parasite control measures to improve the health and well-being of S. melanotheron and the water quality.