AGE AND GROWTH OF THE FISH LUCIOBARBUS CALLENSIS (CYPRINIDAE) IN THE OULDJET MELLEGUE DAM (ALGERIA, TEBESSA)

The present study focuses on the growth of the species Luciobarbus callensis, which is a freshwater fish, more specifically in Algerian rivers and dams.A total of 211 specimens of L. callensis were collected from the Ouldjet Mellegue dam in Tbessa during a period from February 2022 to May 2023.The direct scalimetric method was used to determine age.This method showed six age groups for females and five age groups for males.Size frequency distributions and growth parameters were analysed using the von Bertalanffy method.According to the parameters of this method, female barbels (L=62.10,K=1.41, '=3.73) show faster growth than males (L=51.05,K=0.57, '= 3.17).The allometric coefficients of the size-eviscerated weight relationship indicate an isometric allometry for the whole population.