Abstract
The threatened indigenous small fish, Mystus vittatus (Bloch 1794) is a commercially important fish of Bangladesh. The present study describes the fecundity and its relationships with some of the morphometrics and condition factors (Fulton's, K-F; Relative weight, W-R) of M. vittatus. A total of 50 matured female M. vittatus were collected using the cast net from the Padma River during May-July, 2012. Total fecundity (F-T) of each female was calculated as the number of oocytes found in each ovary, whereas relative fecundity (F-R) was the number of oocytes per gram of fish weight. The total length (TL) ranged from 8.21 to 12.36 cm (10.60 +/- 1.08 cm) and the body weight (BW) varied between 6.0 and 21.65 g (14.08 +/- 4.15 g). The F-T ranged from 3256 to 22549 with a mean value of 13064.50 +/- 4920 while the F-R ranged from 472 to 1648 oocytes per gram of female, with a mean of 929 +/- 245. Significant and strong relationships were found between F-T vs. TL (r(2) = 0.63; p<0.001), F-T vs. BW (r(2) = 0.61; p<0.001), F-T vs. OW (r(2) = 0.89; p<0.001) and F-T vs. GSI (r(s) = 0.67; p<0.001), but insignificant relationships were recorded for F-T vs. K-F (r(s) = 0.11; p = 0.452), F-T vs. W-R (r(s) = 0.001; p = 0.997). The information provided in this study will help initiating sustainable management and conservation of the threatened M. vittatus in the region.