Foods of the false Upside Down Catfish (Synodontis nigrita) from Otamiri River Rivers State, Nigeria.

Year : 2025 | Volume : | : | Page : –
By
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KO Chukwu,

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Obi M,

  1. Researcher, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic EnvironmentDepartment of Fisheries and Aquatic Environment, Rivers State University, Port Harcour, , Nigeria
  2. Researcher, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic EnvironmentDepartment of Fisheries and Aquatic Environment, Rivers State University, Port Harcour, , Nigeria

Abstract

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The false upside down catfish (Synodontis nigrita ) from Otamiri River was studied for its food choices in the its natural environment by examining its stomach content. Samples of the species were studied using the frequency of occurrence, and number methods. The most important food item (Food Ranking) was determined by index of food significance (IFS).The index of food significance was estimated as a function of percentage number of food items in the stomach to  number of same items in the fish’s stomach. The study revealed that S. nigrita stomach contained the following food items;  Chlroplyceae (Tetradon caudata, Tetraton regulare, Closterium gracile), Cynophyceae (Merismopodia elegans, Merismopodia elegams, Spirulina sp, Raphidiopsis curruta) Xanthophyceae (Tribonema minus, Tribonema graciana, Cyclotella viridana) and Bacillanophyceae. The most important food item as determined by IFS was Spirulina sp (21.28) while Tribonema graciana (6.02) was the least important food consumed. Regression analysis of length-weight data showed that the fish had a negative allometric growth (2.8148±0.0664) and a negative allometric condition factor of 1.225±0.066. An intercept of  0.5512±0.0927 was recorded in the study and the correlation coefficient was 0.7619. The stomach content of the fish indicated that it feeds mainly on algae and as a result would do well on a medium to protein compounded feed if reared in captivity. This feed could be composed of both animal and plant materials, although the food extracted from the stomach of the fish was of mainly plant materials. This is an indication that a feed composed of only plant materials could give a good result in captivity.

Keywords: Stomach, feeding, stomach, habits, nutrition.

How to cite this article:
KO Chukwu, Obi M. Foods of the false Upside Down Catfish (Synodontis nigrita) from Otamiri River Rivers State, Nigeria.. Research & Reviews : Journal of Veterinary Science and Technology. 2025; ():-.
How to cite this URL:
KO Chukwu, Obi M. Foods of the false Upside Down Catfish (Synodontis nigrita) from Otamiri River Rivers State, Nigeria.. Research & Reviews : Journal of Veterinary Science and Technology. 2025; ():-. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/rrjovst/article=2025/view=0

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Ahead of Print Subscription Original Research
Volume
Received 03/12/2024
Accepted 07/01/2025
Published 09/01/2025
149