Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in fish tissues of a freshwater lake of Bhopal

Contamination of heavy metals, namely, lead, cadmium, zinc, nickel, copper, chromium and mercury was evaluated in the samples of water and tissues of Labeo rohita and Ctenopharyngodon idella of Upper Lake of Bhopal collected during summer, rainy and winter seasons of 2005–2006. Different organs of the fishes accumulated varying quantities of different heavy metals. In L. rohita, accumulation of heavy metals was in the sequence liver > kidney > gills > muscles, and in C. idella, it was gills > liver > kidney > muscles. Zn was the highest accumulating metal in fish, whilst Hg was the lowest and was well corroborated with those of water. The values of heavy metals were so far well within the maximum permissible standard value of heavy metals for drinking water and for fish culture as prescribed by various national and international agencies.