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Study Of Food Preferences And Feeding Behavior Of Aspidoparia morar from The River Yamuna Allahabad, India

Shadab Masud*, K.P. Singh

The present study was done at Central Inland Freshwater Research Institute, Allahabad, India, to know the type and amount of food taken by Aspidoparia morar in the river Yamuna. To study the food and feeding habits, a total of 299 fish samples of A. morar were collected monthly for twelve months covering the length range 4.5cm-15.8 cm from the river Yamuna at Allahabad. Studies have shown that this fish having plant food material 85.5% and animal food material 4.7% is strongly herbivores. The analysis of food intake of A. morar indicated that it feeds mainly on phytoplankton which is dominated by Diatom (40.2%) followed by GA (24.8%), BGA (14.6%) and Desmids (7.8%). The contribution of miscellaneous and Protozoa was merely 7.9%and 4.0%, respectively, hence the fish can be further classified asphytoplankton feeder. The analysis of season-wise data did not reflect much variation in proportion of plant and animal matter in food items. Higher length groups (>10 cm) showed low intake of animal food as compared to smaller ones (<10 cm). In fishes of more than 10 cm in length, Diatoms were the most preferred food (52.4%).The intensity of feeding Gastro-Somatic Index (GaSI) was found to be maximum during December and lowest in monsoon (June to September). High feeding activity during October to December might be due to intensive feeding by spent fishes as well as those in early stage of maturity. Present studies revealed that it breeds mainly in monsoon period, the period of minimum feeding intensity, this indicated that feeding intensity of fish is related to its breeding. The present findings will help in filling the gap in knowledge about the feeding habit of A. morar which will help in formulating strategies for proper development of their fishery.