Estimation of length-weight relationship of six coral reef fishes of order Perciformes from Gulf of Mannar, southeast coast of India

The length-weight relationship (LWR) of six coral reef fishes Chaetodon octofasciatus, lutjanus decussatus, lutjanus rivulatus , lutjanus lutjanus, lutjanus johnii and Apolemichthys xanthurus from the coral regions of Gulf of Mannar named Tuticorin, Vembar, Keelakarai, Mandapam and Rameswaram were studied using the allometric growth equation W=aL b . The 'b' value of 4 species of reef fishes out of six were found very close to the isometric value of 3.0, other two showed negative allometry. The value of regression co-efficient(r) was greater than .9 in Chaetodon octofasciatus, Lutjanus decussatus and Lutjanus lutjanus indicating the proper fit of the model for growth.