Length-Weight Relationship and Condition Factor of Clarias gariepinus and Clarias anguillaris from Yobe Komadougou River

Abstract

A comparative study on the length-weight relationship and condition factor of Clarias gariepinus and Clarias anguillaris from the Yobe River was conducted. Sixty fish samples were randomly collected from landing sites along Yobe Komadougou River using stratified random sampling over three months (July–September 2019). Morphometric measurements were taken in triplicates and analyzed using regression analysis with weight ranging from 65.92g – 2700.69g and length ranging from 21.1cm – 55.2cm for Clarias gariepinus and weight of 56.41g – 2300.2g and length ranging from 19.5cm – 52.2cm for Clarias anguillaris. Morphometric measurements were done on site and in triplicates on total length, standard length and weight of each fish sample and the average taken. The results obtained showed that the growth of Clarias gariepinus and Clarias anguillaris is positively allometric with b-values of 5.9056 and 4.907 respectively which is not statistically different (p>0.05). The positive allometric growth could be the due to spawning since the data was collected during the peak spawning season (rainy season). The mean condition factor of C. gariepinus is 0.9864 while that of C. anguillaris is 1.8109 and were significantly different (p< 0.05) indicating that C. gariepinus was not in good condition while C. anguillaris was thriving and living in good condition during the study period. There was a strong positive correlation between the length and weight of these fish species which shows that this water body had abundant food supply that supported the growth of C. gariepinus and C. anguillaris making this important commercial freshwater fish species to be exploited. However, the low condition factor for Clarias gariepinus is as a result of competition for feed with Clarias anguillaris. For sustainability in the Yobe River, proper fisheries management principles should be employed in order to safeguard against the destruction of its flora, fauna and the aquatic habitat and also mitigate over-exploitation of C gariepinus especially.