EFFECT OF HEAVY METAL, CADMIUM CHLORIDE ON LIPID LEVEL ALTERATIONS IN FRESHWATER EXOTIC FISH, HYPOPTHALMICHTHYS MOLITRIX

Water quality deteriorates mostly due to human activities. Those activities which lead to the aquatic pollution include industrialization, urbanization, mining, power station, agriculture and transport. Human destructive influence on the aquatic environment is in the from sublethal pollution, which results in chronic stress conditions that have negative effect on aquatic life. Hence an attempt was made to study the impact of sublethal concentration of cadmium chloride on the lipid level alterations in gill, liver and kidney of the freshwater exotic fish, Hypopthalmichthys molitrix. As the period of exposure to sublethal concentration of cadmium chloride has considerable influence on the metabolic changes the study was made at 7, 14 and 21 days. The lipid levels alterations in gill, liver and kidney were estimated in control and experimental fishes. Significant decreased lipid level in gill, liver and kidney of fish treated with sublethal concentration of cadmium chloride when compared with control fish. But the maximum decrease of lipid levels were observed in all tissues at 21 days. These results suggest that the cadmium chloride causes deleterious effects on lipid content in gill, liver and kidney. Key words: Hypopthalmichthys molitrix, cadmium chloride, lipid, gill, liver, kidney