Relations among growth traits in tilapia (Orechomis nilotica)

Abstract

A sample of 250 observations in tilapia (Orechomis nilotica) was used in this work. The evaluated traits were those related to growth, i.e., body weight (BW), total body length (BL), body height (BH) and head length (HL). The data were transformed to natural logarithm, and the majority of the relations obtained (BW x BL, BW x BH, HL x BL, e HL x BH) indicated a negative alometric growth. The relation BW x HL was alometric positive. Only the relation BH x BL presented an isometric growth. A prediction equation was determined using as dependent variable the natural logarithm of body weight (lnBW), and as independent variables the natural logarithms of body length (lnBL) and body height (lnBH). The prediction equation was, lnBW = -2.97041 + 2.2145 lnBL + 0,741373 lnBH; r2 = 0.99.