FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS OF Tilapia dangeti FROM SEBORE RESERVOIR, MAYO-BELWA, ADAMAWA STATE NIGERIA

Abstract

This study was aimed at investigating the food and feeding habits of Tilapia dangeti in Sebore reservoir, Mayo-Belwa, Adamawa State Nigeria. A total of 84 specimens of T. dangeti were sampled monthly for a period of a year. Fishing was done using gill nets as the fishing gear and canoe was used as fishing craft. The fish specimens were washed with clean water and preserved in ice crest to minimize any post-mortem changes and taken to the laboratory for analysis of the stomach contents based on standard methods. The random samples of the stomach contents were studied and recorded. The contents of each of the samples were analysed using numerical method (NM) and frequency of occurrence method (FO). Results indicated that 53.57% had their stomach full with food while 42.86% were observed to have a half-filled stomach with 3.57% observed to have empty stomachs. In the NM: phytoplankton were the dominant and composed of 74.32% of the group of food items in the stomach, bottom organisms made up 20.24%, while crustacean were the least with 5.44%. In the FO: phytoplankton were dominant cumulatively followed by detritus and while the least was crustaceans. Based on the findings of this research, T. dangeti can be concluded to be specifically phytoplanktivorous, detritivorous, and crustacivorous feeder and could be broadly classified as either omnivorous or herbivorous bottom feeders.