Diel Patterns of Feeding in Heteropneustes fossilis from Southern Iraq

Abstract

A study on the diurnal feeding cycle of the catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch) from the Ashar Canal, Shatt-al-Arab at Basrah was carried out. The stomachs of the fish contained food almost throughout the 24-hour period. Botb average index of fullness of the stomachs and the average points showed two peaks in the feeding cycle of the fish-•one at 0500 h and the other at 1700 h. Thirty-three kinds of food organisms were found in the stomachs of the fish. Aquatic plants formed the major bulk of the diet. The next important foods were entomostracans, aquatic insects, fish parts, molluscs and nonaquatic organisms.The feeding chronology of freshwater fishes has received considerable attention during recent times (Childers and Shoemaker