Food and Feeding Habits of Catfish ( Synodontis nigrita Cuvier And Valenciennes) In River Rima, Sokoto, Nigeria

Abstract

The food and feeding habits of Synodontis nigrita (Cuvier and Valenciennes) from River Rima were studied. One hundred and three samp les were collected from September to October 2006. The stomachs were analyzed using frequency of occurrence method. The mean total length of the samples was 13.04±2.55SD, mean total weight 30. 42±21.84SD and mean gut length 39.57±8.92SD. The fish is an omnivore, feeding main ly on phytoplankton, zooplankton, detritus, plant tissues, insects, crustaceans and insect part s. The presence of detritus in almost all the stoma chs indicated bottom feeding. The fish gut length was 3 times the body length.