Fish Species Composition and Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Nafada River, Gombe State, Nigeria

Fish species composition and Physico-chemical characteristics of Nafada river, Gombe State, Nigeria were investigated between April and August, 2018. Fish and Physicochemical characteristics sampling were conducted fortnightly for a period of six months (March to August, 2018) by using gillnets of different mesh sizes and portable digital meters respectively. The fish collected were transported to the laboratory and identified using pertinent taxonomic keys. The results of fish species composition recorded at Nafada river comprises of a total number of 365 individuals' fish species consists of sixteen (16) types of species among the eleven (11) family of Bagridae, Characidae, Cichlidae, Citharinadae, Claridae, Claroteidae, Cyprinidae, Machokidae, Mormyridae, Schilbedae and Polypteridae were recorded throughout the study period. The Mormyridae was the most abundant and diverse family of fish species comprising of 28.89% of the fish abundance followed by Characidae with 23.56%, Schilbedae with 16.99%, Cyprinidae with 14.25%, B