Length-Weight Relationships (LWRs) and Condition Factor of Seven Fish Species in River Nyangweta Tributary, Kenya
by Fredrick Mang’era Ondemo 1,2 * 
, Albert Getabu 1, Zipporah Gichana 1, Job Ombiro Omweno 1
1 Department of Environment, Natural resources and Aquatic Sciences, Kisii University, P.O Box 408-40200, Kisii, Kenya.
2 Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, Livestock & Cooperatives Development, Kisii County Government, P.O Box 700 – 40200 Kisii, Kenya
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Journal of Engineering Research and Sciences, Volume 1, Issue 3, Page # 193-199, 2022; DOI: 10.55708/js0103020
Keywords: Riverine fish, Length-weight relationship, Fulton’s condition factor, Allometric condition
Received: 13 January 2022, Revised: 09 March 2022, Accepted: 17 March 2022, Published Online: 28 March 2022
AMA Style
Ondemo FM, Getabu A, Gichana Z, Omweno JO. Length-weight relationships (lwrs) and condition factor of seven fish species in River Nyangweta tributary, Kenya. Journal of Engineering Research and Sciences. 2022;1(3):193-199. doi:10.55708/js0103020
Chicago/Turabian Style
Ondemo, Fredrick Mang’era, Albert Getabu, Zipporah Gichana, and Job Ombiro Omweno. “Length-Weight Relationships (Lwrs) and Condition Factor of Seven Fish Species in River Nyangweta Tributary, Kenya.” Journal of Engineering Research and Sciences 1, no. 3 (2022): 193–99. https://doi.org/10.55708/js0103020.
IEEE Style
F. M. Ondemo, A. Getabu, Z. Gichana, and J. O. Omweno, “Length-weight relationships (lwrs) and condition factor of seven fish species in River Nyangweta tributary, Kenya,” Journal of Engineering Research and Sciences, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 193–199, 2022.
Length-weight relationships (LWRs) and condition factors are important for effective management of riverine fisheries. This study investigated the LWRs and condition factors of the dominant fish species from Nyangweta tributary of River Kuja, in Lake Victoria Catchment, Kenya. A total of 615 fish of seven dominant species were analyzed: Enteromius altianalis, Enteromius neumeyeri, Clarias theodorae, Labeo victorianus, Labeobarbus altianialis, Chiloglanis species and Amphilias jacksonii. The fish were sampled from five locations from October 2020 to March 2021. The length and weight measurements were taken using a measuring board and an electronic balance respectively and used to determine Fulton’s (KF) and allometric (Ka) condition factors. The largest species was E. altianalis (70.74 ± 8.72g), followed by L. altianialis and L. victorianus with mean body weights of 62.14 ± 3.48g and 56.43 ± 11.26g respectively. With exception of E. altianalis and C. theodorae, the Fulton’s condition factors (KF) of all the species were greater than (1) and not significantly different (p = 0.43) among the species. Majority (four) of the species exhibited positive allometry (Ka > 3), while only one species exhibited isometric (Ka = 3) growth, due to different body profiles which may not allow uniform growth of all individuals of the same species, a large percentage of females in adult fish populations and high nutrient influxes. The LWRs were significant and showed strong linear relationships between total and standard lengths and body weight (p < 0.05, R2 > 0.5). These findings suggest that conservation measures need to be taken to improve the fish health and physiological condition in upstream areas of the Nyangweta tributary.
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