Abstract
Some aspects of growth and reproduction of the Nile perch (Lates niloticus) from River Rima, North-western Nigeria were studied. These included length-weight and length-length relationships, condition factors, morphology of the gonads, gonad maturation stages, and gonadosomatic index (GSI). A total of 55 samples were collected from the river from July to December 2011, using gill nets and baited set lines. The total length (TL) of the samples ranged from 13.50cm to 35.00cm with a mean of 27.66±4.64SD while their total weight ranged from 25.30g to 493.10g with a mean of 290.43+101.33SD. The b value of the total length-total weight relationship for the overall samples (b = 3.090), females (b =3.175), and samples
<25cmTL (b=3.812) indicated a positive allometric growth pattern, while males had the b value of 2.920, and samples ≥25cmTL (b=2.193) exhibited negative allometry. The mean relative condition factor of all the samples was 0.96±0.79SE. It was highest in November (Kn =1.01±0.25SE) and lowest in July (0.85±0.14SE). It was slightly higher in males (0.99±0.13SE) than in females (0.93±0.0.06SE). Smaller samples <25cmTL were in better condition (Kn =0.98 ± 0.54SE) than larger ones (Kn = 0.95±0.12SE) in samples ≥25cm TL). Only the immature (I) gonad maturation stage was observed in both sexes. Mean GSI for males and females were 0.706±0.6179SD and 2.751±4.54465SD, respectively. The r values of the relationship between GSI and total length in females and males were 0.702 and 0.225, respectively, indicating that GSI increased with an increase in the body length, but this is more in the females than in males.
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