Abstract
Proximate composition of small catfish, Mystus bleekeri, from Nala Daik, Sialkot, Pakistan was investigated and fluctuation in relation to body size and condition factor was carried out. Mean percentages for water, fat, protein and ash contents inthe whole wet body weight of wild M. bleekeri were 77.87, 3.26, 15.01 and 3.87%, respectively. Body composition of the fish was effected by body size; however, condition factor remains constant with observed body constituents (% water, fat, protein, ash and organic contents). Highly significant (P<0.001) correlation Found between percentage water and percentage fat, protein, ash and organic contents in both wet and dry body weight. Investigation of body size on body constituents Reflected decrease in relative amount of water, skeleton (wet and dry weight), increase in fat (dry weight), protein, organic contents (wet and dry weight), and no effect on fat (wet weight) with growth of fish. Additionally, the first reference for proximate composition for M. bleekeri is provided. Key words: Proximate composition, body size, condition factor, predictive equation, catfish, Mystus bleekeri.
Highlights
Mystus bleekeri (Day, 1877) is a small, freshwater catfish with a reported maximum length as 15.5 cm (Froese and Pauly, 2011) and belongs to order Siluriformes and family Bagridae
The aim of this study was to evaluate the proximate composition and how it fluctuates in relation to body size and condition factor in M. bleekeri caught from a stream, Nala Daik, Sialkot, Pakistan
Fish samples of M. bleekeri used for this study were collected from Nala Daik, a stream in Sialkot, Pakistan, with various fishing gear during February and March, 2010
Summary
Mystus bleekeri (Day, 1877) is a small, freshwater catfish with a reported maximum length as 15.5 cm (Froese and Pauly, 2011) and belongs to order Siluriformes and family Bagridae. It is considered as a food fish (Musa and Bhuiyan, 2007; Shinde et al, 2009; Haniffa, 2009), having good taste and nutritional value (Faruk-Ul-Islam, 2007). It occurs in streams, rivers, side channels, tanks and reservoirs (Tiwana et al, 2007).
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