EVALUATION OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PARAMETERS, HEAVY METALS AND ZOOPLANKTON IN SOME FISH FARMS AT KAFR EL-SHIEKH, EGYPT

EVALUATION OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PARAMETERS, HEAVY METALS AND ZOOPLANKTON IN SOME FISH FARMS AT KAFR EL-SHIEKH, EGYPT

Mona H. Ahmed; Eman A. Abd El-Hameed
and

Ahmed Battran

Limnology Dept., Central Laboratory for Aquaculture Research Center, Egypt.

Abstract

This study was carried out through different seasons of all over a year in five sites
located at Kafr El-Sheikh governorate, Egypt. Irrigation canal (Site 1), drain number 6 (Site 2) in El-Hamol (A mixture of agriculture drainage, sugar factory drainage of sugar factory and Ketchainar drain effluents), a private fish in El-Hamol (Site 3) which irrigated from drain number 6 directly, private fish farm (Site 4) which irrigated from expulsion pumps number 7 (A mixture of agricultural drainage and industrial effluents + wastewater) and fish farm (Site 5) which closer to Lake Borollus about 3 km and irrigated from the same source of site 4.
All fish farms had the same management systems; all ponds have 1.25m in column water depth.

The obtained results showed that water temperature readings in spring, summer and autumn in all sites were within the permissible range for fish culture. The pH values were fluctuated in the alkaline side within the allowable limits for fish health in all sites. In winter, dissolved oxygen showed higher values in all sites followed by those in autumn. The lowest levels were detected in spring and summer. In addition, site 2 water recorded the minimum values of DO among all sites and during all seasons. Salinity levels at site 2 and 3 were higher than that in the site 4 and 5. Total alkalinity and total hardness were fluctuated among all seasons. The highest levels of alkalinity and hardness were recorded in site 2 and 3. Ammonia concentrations were in the critical fluctuations in all sites. Nitrate and nitrite levels were fluctuated in all sites recorded the highest levels during summer and autumn and all the recorded levels were favorable for fish culture. The studied metals were copper, lead, iron, cadmium and zinc. These metals except copper were more than the permissible limits in water in some sites where they were recorded the highest concentrations as following 0.054, 0.036, 19.52, 23.41 and 44.37 mg/l respectively. Rotifer is dominant order of zooplankton followed by cladocera, copepod and ostracoda. The highest abundance of zooplankton orders rotifer, cladocera and copepod were noticed in site 5 whereas the highest number of order ostracoda was recoded in site 2.