A total of 589 fishes, belonging to 23 species were collected from eight different localities
in north and mid Iraq during 1993. The parasitological inspection of such fishes revealed the
presence of 59 parasite species and two fungi. Among such parasites, five monogenetic
trematodes were recorded on the gills of some fishes for the first time in Iraq. These
included:- Ancyrocephalus vanbenedenii on Liza abu from Tigris river at Al-Zaafaraniya,
south of Baghdad; Dactylogyrus anchoratus on Cyprinus carpio from Tigris river at Al –
Zaafaranya D. minutus on C. carpio from both Tigris river at Al-Zaafaraniya and Euphrates
river at Al-Qadisiya dam lake; Discocotyle sagittata on L. abu from both the drainage system
at

The development of thyroid gland in five developmental stages of common carp, Cyprinus carpio L. The thyroid originates from the pharyngeal floor as a median ventral keel in late embryos having four pairs of arches. It differentiates into profollicular aggergations and true follicles with flattened walls and empty lumina or with lumina filled with cotton waste-like material in three days-old elvers. Secretion of homogeneous eosinophilic colloid with a limited increase in the height of follicular wall is noted in five days-old elvers. In nine days-old individuals the follicles increase in size due to coallescence. The thyroid gland reaches its maximal activity as judged by its histology in one-two months-old individuals. The gland is of t

This paper describes the first occurrence of the monogenetic trematode Silurodiscoides
mediacanthus (Achmerow, 1952) in Iraq from gills of the cyprinid fish Barbus luteus from
Diyala river, Diyala province, Iraq. The description and measurements of this parasite were
given. In addition, key for the identification of the three species of Silurodiscoides, so far
recorded from freshwater fishes of Iraq, is included.

Common carp ( Cyprinus carpio L.) juveniles  averaging 7.68± 0.25 - 8.12± 1.14 g in weight were  used for 6 weeks to investigate their survival and growth preferences. The experimented carp were stocked at 12 tanks formerly adjusted with different pH levels values as: 6.0, 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0.  Growth and survival of common carp was assessed every Sunday of each week. Growth rates significantly (P < 0.05 ) increased  at pH 7 and  pH8 respectively. Therefore, the results suggest that the water with pH ranged from 7 to 8 was the best range for growth performance and survival rate of carp. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) improved at pH 6  and 9 respectively. In general, the results indicated that water p

A series of experiments were conducted for the first time in Iraq to evaluate the efficiency of five plant leaves extracts (Ibicella lutea, Nerium oleander, Clerodendron inerme, Allium cepa and Eucalyptus spp.) in treating the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) infected with monogenetic trematodes of genera Dactylogyrus. Five different concentrations of such extracts were used to bathe fishes for 5,10,15,20 and 25 minutes. A concentration of 15% A. cepa for 25 minutes of bath exposure was affective in trematode eradication. Extracts of both Eucalyptus and N. oleander at a concentration of 10% each were also affective for ten minutes exposure. Extracts of C. inerme had no any effect on such parasites. On the otherhand, extracts of 1. hitea caused

The study was conducted to show the effect of using dried rumen powder as a source of animal protein in the diets of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) on its performance, in the fish laboratory/College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences/University of Baghdad/ for a period of 70 d, 70 fingerlings were used with an average starting weight of 30±3 g, with a live mass rate of 202±2 g, randomly distributed among five treatments, two replicates for each treatment and seven fish for each replicate. Five diets of almost identical protein content and different percentages of addition of dried rumen powder were added. 25% was added to treatment T2 and 50% to treatment T3 and 75% of the treatment T4 and 100% of the treatment T5

  From September 2002, monthly samples of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) were collected from two stations al AL-Gharraf canal. The results of this study revealed that the relationship between fecundity and total length , body weight and age can be  expressed by the following equations:  Log F=2.049+1.059 Log W.     r =0.98 Log F=1.173+2.534 Log L.     r =0.96 Log F=3.844+2.197 Log A.     r =0.87 The range of the absolute fecundity of 20 female fishes were 50910 – 1008514 eggs and the relative fecundity was 177 eggs/g. The average egg diameter was 1.52 mm in ripe female and it ranged from 0.99mm to 1.64mm. There were three peaks of Ganado somatic index in

For the first time in Iraq, the crustacean Ergasilus ogawai Kabata,

1992 was recorded from the gills of Silurus triostegus, Mastacembelus mastacembelus, Mystus pelusius and Acanthopagrus latus out of 12 fish species caught from Garmat Ali river north of Basrah city during the period from September 1999 till August 2000. The percentage incidence of infestations of these four fish species were 98.9%, 100%,

49.6% and 71.4% while the intensity of infestations were 417, 81.8,

3.4 and 2, respectively. No significant differences in infestations of

male and female hosts  with this crustacean were detected.

Hematological parameters were used as a biomarker of sub chronic effect of dursban  in Cyprinus carpio L. The common carp was exposed sub chronically to the 36, 53,113 µg /l concentrations of dursban for six weeks. During the experimental period the results showed a decrease  in the  red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC),  hemoglobin (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV),  and packed cell volume (PCV)  in the  last two weeks of exposure, while the Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were significantly increased. The present study indicates that sub chronic exposures of C.carpio to dursban alter the hematological parameters.