Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the load and distribution patterns of the aerobic bacterial flora associated with pond water, sediments, gills, and intestines of healthy African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, cultured in Saudi Arabia. Counts of viable bacteria ranged from 7.9 ± 4.4 103 to 4.3 ± 5.7 104 colony forming units (cfu)/mL in water; 1.3 ± 2.7 108 to 7.4 ± 4.6 109 cfu/g in sediments; 8.7 ± 1.8 106 to 6.6 ± 5.8 107 cfu/g in gill filaments; and 8.8 ± 6.2 108 to 4.3 ± 2.8 1010 cfu/g in intestines. The bacterial flora was predominantly comprised of gram-negative rods, accounting for 75% of the total isolated strains. Altogether, 11 bacterial species of 8 genera were identified: Aeromonas hydrophila, Shewanella putrefaciens, Vibrio cholerae, Staphylococcus sp., Corynebacterium urealyticum, and Vibrio vulnificus were the most common with the first three dominating (prevalence > 14%) in every population studied.
The authors are grateful to King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for research support.