Feeding behavior of Catfish, Ompok pabda from Indus River near Jamshoro, Sindh

Abstract

The present investigation on feeding behavior of catfish, Ompok pabda from riverIndus near Jamshoro was initiated for the period of three months from March to May 2017. Total 200 specimens ranged from 4.0 -30.0 cm and 6.1-60.5 g in length and weight respectively were procured from the catch of local fishermen.The collected specimens were brought to laboratory preserved in 5% formalin. Results of the presentinvestigation revealed that the feeding behavior of Ompok pabdawas found to be carnivorous with higher feeding preferences for insect larvae (60.43%), followedby zooplanktons (23.58) and 3rd preferred food was debris (11.93). It was noted during the present course of investigation that small fish (4.0-10.0 cm)preferred zooplankton, protozoa and debris while medium sized fish (11.0-16.0 cm) showed preference to insect larvae, worms and detritus and large fish (17.0-30.0 cm) exhibited insect larvae, zooplankton, detritus and debris. The gape of mount was measured in relation to total length and found to be positively correlated with length of fish in the present study.