Age and growth of dominant cichlids in Gbedikere Lake, Kogi Statr, Nigeria

Abstract

Age, growth and mortality of two dominant Cichlids collected from an Ox bow lake on the tributary of River Benue were studied between October 2006 and September 2008. Sixty samples of the fish species comprising thirty Tilapia zilli and thirty Oreochromis niloticus were obtained from the Artisanal fishers from the common landing site along the lake. Age was determined from Bhattacharya’s length frequency assortment method using where applicable the scale of fish and opercula bones. Growth was found to be allometric among the species studied conforming to the growth factor W = aL^b. Four age groups were observed while averaged instantaneous total mortality for the species was 0.48/year and an exploitation rate of 0.41 while the longevity was 8 years.

Keywords: Age, Cichlids Species, Instantaneous Growth, Exploitation, Gbedikere Lake, Nigeria

Animal Research International (2012) 9(1): 1497 – 1501