Keywords
Abstract
Morphometric characteristics and stomach contents of Lutjanus goreensis, Pomadasys jubelini and Pseudotolithus typus off - Lagos coast was investigated between January and June, 2017. Freshly caught fish samples were collected from Better – life fish market Makoko in Lagos stored in iced chest and transported to Department of Marine Sciences Postgraduate fisheries and hydriobiology laboratory until required. The results showed that the total length of L. goreensis, P. jubelini and P. typus ranged from 14.50-23.20 cm, 15.10-22.10 cm and 22.50-30.10 cm respectively. The ‘b’ values indicate that L. goreensis and P. typus exhibited positive allometric growth, while P. jubelini exhibited negative (2.8938) allometric growth. The condition factor of L. goreensis and P. jubelini (1.78±0.19 g/cm3 and 1.31±0.08 g/cm3, respectively) reflected good physiological and environmental conditions. However, P. typus has 0.89±0.11 g/cm condition factor, which indicates that the fish are not healthy and does not fare well in the environment. Stomach content analysis revealed that the L. goreensis, P. jubelini and P. typus are piscivorous feeding on fin fish, shrimp, crab and a variety of diatoms. This information to the existing knowledge of morphometric of fishes as an important tools for exact fish identification and the biology of L. goreensis, P. jubelini and P. typus with particular reference to growth condition, dietary items and feeding habits of the species to helps select these fishes for culture and produce an optimum yield by utilizing all the available potential food of the water bodies without any competition.
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