Length weight relationship and condition factor of selected freshwater fish species found in river Ganga, Gomti and Rapti, India

Abstract

This study is based on the length­weight relationships (LWRs) of 2148 fishes, belonging to 8 families, 12 genera and 15 freshwater fish species (Wallago attu, Rita rita, Sperata seenghala, Sperata aor, Mastacembalus armatus, Macrognathus puncalus, Gudusia chapra, Clupisoma garua, Puntius sophore, Puntius ticto, Rasbora daniconius, Amblypharyngodon mola, Chanda nama, Colisa faciatus and Colisa sota) captured from river Ganga, Gomti and Rapti during May 2011 to March 2012. The growth coefficient (b) values varied between 1.30 and 3.07, with the mean b = 2.03 at p< 0.001. The condition factor (K) varied considerably from 0.76 and 2.95, with a mean K = 1.43 which may be attributed to different environmental conditions of the river basin. The objective was to evaluate the pattern of LWRs and condition factors of the freshwater fish species of the main Ganga and tributaries which serves as baseline for other tropical Indian rivers and tributaries.