Length-weight relationship and condition factor of two Hydrocynus species in Lake Kainji, Nigeria

In the study and understanding of fish biology, characterization and morphology, the length-weight relationship is of great importance. The genus Hydrocynus, is of high economic importance to the fisheries of Lake Kainji. This study investigated their length-weight relationship to establish the growth pattern of species within this genus. The ‘b’ values of the length-weight relationship for these species are less than 3. There was negative allometric growth (b<3) for all samples of the Hydrocynus species. The correlation coefficients (r) are 0.9713 and 0.9888, for Hydrocynus forskali and H.brevis respectively. Condition factors ranged from 1.313 for H. forskali to 1.431 for H. brevis.