Some aspects of the biology of Planiliza abu Heckel, 1843 from Hawr Ad Dalmaj marsh

The main objective of this study was to screen and identify some aspects of the biology of Planiliza abu species that are found in Hawr Ad Dalmaj marsh southern Iraq, as a basis for conservation programs on fish community in this area. Five hundred and fifteen specimens of P. abu species were caught on Hawr Ad Dalmaj marsh through January to December 2017 and then and then analysed for their length, weight, size, sex, and stomach contents to assess their diet. Results of the current study found that the maximum total length for P. abu was 20.9 cm whilst minimum total length was 3.7 cm; the maximum total weight was 122.22 g while the minimum total weight was 2.98 g. Length-weight relationship for females was W= 0.010×L2.87 and for males was W= 0.013×L3.04. The sex ratio was most favourable of females that showed values of 1:1.25. The gonado-somatic index (GSI) values for the females were between 0.99-12.81, while for the males were in the range 0.8-10.3.