Kerala, on the South Western tip of Peninsular India is blessed with the South western and South Eastern monsoon which contributes to its vast fresh water bodies. But pollution of these water bodies has created physiological stress on its aquatic fauna. Among various forms of pollution in water bodies, detergent pollution has an immediate and detrimental effect on the aquatic fauna. Anabas testudineus, a common fresh water fish in Kerala was used in our study to determine the effect of detergent pollution on the fish’s breathing. Three different concentrations of a popular brand of detergent were prepared and the amounts of Dissolved Oxygen consumed by fishes exposed to the detergent were determined using Winkler’s method. Our study demonstrated that Dissolved Oxygen consumption in Anabas testudineus increases in the presence of detergent. This is due to the stress caused by the detergent on the normal physiological activities of the fish. Draining of domestic sewage containing detergents into water bodies adversely affect its aquatic fauna.

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