Abstract
Dietary habits of the up side-down Mochokid catfish, Synodontis membranaceus were investigated for 24 months (April 2002-March 2004, in Jebba lake, Nigeria) using frequency of occurrence, numerical, gravimetric and index of relative importance (R1) methods. The fish is euryphagus and feeds more at night. RI values indicate that 10 of the 16 food items were major diet components. The main five food categories are detritus (10.64%), Aspatharia (9.08%), plant parts (8.85%), seeds (8.61%) and Spirogyra (8.43%), while the 5 less prominent food categories were gastropods (7.05 %), insect appendages (6.88%), copepods (6.31%), adult Povilla adusta (5.89%) and coleoptera larvae (5.36%). The remaining six food items, dragon flies, P adusta larvae, chironomid larvae, Daphnia, water mites and fish scales had RI values considerably under 5%. The prominence of detritus in the diet indicated that the fish is a bottom or benthic feeder. The wide variability in food supply enables S. membranaceus to maintain its overwhelming prominence in Jebba lake, and its euryphagus habit makes it suited for pond culture.
Highlights
The genus Synodontis is among the most favoured edible fish in Northern Nigeria (Reed et al 1967), owing to their overwhelming abundance in the artisanal fisheries
Many food types ranging from insects, planktons, molluscs to fish and crustaceans have been observed in the stomachs of S. membranaceus in different waters
In lake Chad, Blache (1964) documented the presence of plant materials, mud deposits and plankton in the stomach of S. membranaceus, while Bishai and Abu-Gideiri (1965) working on River Nile at Khartoum reported that its food consists of plankton, mud deposits and insect larvae
Summary
The genus Synodontis is among the most favoured edible fish in Northern Nigeria (Reed et al 1967), owing to their overwhelming abundance in the artisanal fisheries. Synodontis membranaceus is generally preferred by fishermen and consumers because of their relatively large sizes. They command a higher market value than other species of the genus. In Jebba lake, S. membranaceus is the dominant species, occupying unique and prominent position in the commercial fisheries of the lake (Owolabi 2005). It is highly relished either fresh or smoke-dried. S. membranaceus has been found to be a typical example of fish without strict feeding habit It is regarded as omnivore, because of its ability to use just any food material present in its habitat. While the species fed on plant materials and mud deposits
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