Food and Feeding Habits of Auchenoglanis occidentalis (VALENCIENNES, 1775) from Lake Akata, Benue State, Nigeria

摘要

Food and feeding habits of Auchenoglanis occidentalis (VALENCIENNES, 1775) were analyzed from samples which were collected between May 2008-April 2009 in Lake Akata. A total of 97 fish specimens were used for the study. The fish specimens used for the study were obtained from fishermen operating on Lake Akata. These fishermen use various fishing gears including hand nets, cast nets and gill nets of various standard mesh sizes (20.2, 25.4 and 30.5 mm). Food and feeding habits were investigated using point and frequency of occurrence methods. The seasonal variation and monthly feeding index were also noted in the stomach contents of Auchenoglanis occidentalis over the period of investigation. The most important food items were insects, insect larvae, algae and fish scale. The result indicated that Auchenoglanis occidentalis is an omnivore but had a tendency to predate more on insects.