Growth and condition of Indian major carp (Catla catla Ham., 1822) in perennial small water bodies of south Gujarat (India)

Fish growth is a significant factor in fish production and is directly related to the income of fish farmers. Thus, in the present study, it is aimed to determine the growth status of the Indian major carp (Catla catla Ham. 1822) at Keliya reservoir (Gujarat). The morphometric measurements (total length and weight) were taken from 597 fish specimens that were randomly collected from commercial catches between November 2021 and March 2022. During the study, the total length ranged from 25.00 to 46.00 cm (34.41 ±0.16 cm), and the weight ranged from 206.00 to 1525.00 g (528.29 ±8.62 g) of fish was recorded. The length frequency of fish shows that the population was dominated by the length group 30-35 cm (307), followed by the length group 35-40 cm (170), 25-30 cm (75), 40-45 cm (41) and 45-50 cm (4). The total length and weight variables were used to calculate the length-weight relationship and condition factor. The value of the correlation coefficient (r2) was 0.906, showing a positive relationship between the variables, and the regression coefficient (b, 3.164±0.041 at 0.05 CI, which fulfilled the ‘cube law’ and indicates positive allometric growth of the studied fish in earthen ponds. The mean value of condition factor (K) for length groups A (25-30 cm), B (30-35 cm), C (35-40 cm), D (40-45 cm), E (45-50 cm) and pooled population were 1.26±0.02, 1.3 ±0.01, 1.25 ±0.01, 1.33 ±0.02, 1.39 ±0.09 and 1.24±0.01 respectively, which indicated that the condition of fish was good. The aquatic environment was conducive for fish survival in the studied water body.