Clarias liocephalus, a small wetland fish, has potential to curb rural malnutrition in Uganda

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CLARIAS LIOCEPHALUS, A SMALL WETLAND FISH, HAS
POTENTIAL TO CURB RURAL MALNUTRITION IN UGANDA
Introduction
Clarias liocephalus
Is a small air-breathing indigenous catfish that
inhabits wetlands of Eastern Africa.
 Has for long been an important food & source
of income to rural communities in Uganda
 Highly demanded as live bait for Nile perch
fishery in L. Victoria
Results
The feeding experiment confirmed the following
attributes in C. liocephalus:
• Ability to survive in a pond and adapt to an
artificial diet.
•Can endure low levels of DO (overall mean of
1.39mg/ l) and wide range of temperatures.
•Has comparable SGR and FCR with other
reared fishes.
•Is a low-fat high- protein fish
Acknowledgements
• RUFORUM and partners for funding this study
• Mentors: Prof. Kang’ombe J.; Dr. Rutaisire J.; Prof.
Chapman L. and Dr. Sikawa D.
• Mbarara University Uganda and Bunda College Malawi
Sr. Jane Yatuha (PhD)
Mbarara University of Science and Technology P.O.
Box 1410 Mbarara Uganda.
jyatuha@must.ac.ug +256 772 575952
A feeding experiment using wild fingerlings on a 4
level protein diet was designed in a pond using
hapas as experimental units to determine:
• Percent survival under culture conditions
• Adaptability to artificial diet
• Specific growth rate
• Feed conversion ratio
• Nutritional value
through proximate
analysis
Priority was given to study the potential of C.
liocephalus in addressing food insecurity and
malnutrition due to the very high pressure on
the wild stocks to satisfy the bait and food
markets and, its wetland habitats are
threatened. However there is scant information
about the species to guide management and
sustainable utilization.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Clarias liocephalus
• has important qualities of potential aquaculture
species
• Is nutritionally viable and can satisfy the nutrient
demand of poorer sections of society;
• As malnutrition remains a killer in sub Saharan
Africa, research into reinforcing the value chain of
this fish is timely.
Methods
Experimental setup
in a pond
Parameter DIET
Sig.
(1) 25% CP (2) 30% (3) 35% (4) 44% Control*
Crude
protein
53.33 ± 2.21a 53.05±.49a 58.18±1.74a 48.19±.66a 66.04±1.07b <0.001
Crude fat
6.42±2.38a 2.90±0.31a 5.61±1.38a 13.11±3.27b 1.28±0.14a 0.012
Ash
9.56±0.62a 7.59±1.39b 8.42±0.55b 10.07±0.46a 12.59±0.16a 0.008
Fibre
5.45±2.46a 4.63±0.11a 7.67±1.79a 6.13±2.7a 26.15±6.22b < 0.001
Moisture
74.18±0.08a 72.33±0.0b 72.65±0.03b 70.16±0.28c 76.38±0.59d <0.001