THE FEEDING HABITS OF MINNOWS OF THE GENUSBARBUS(PISCES, CYPRINIDAE) IN AFRICA, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TOBARBUS AIVOPLUSWEBER

Abstract

SUMMARY A twelve month study of the feeding biology of the chubbyhead barb, Barbus anoplus, Weber, 1897, from Lake Le Roux on the Orange River is described. B. anoplus taken from the open-water habitat fed mainly on copepods and cladocerans whereas those living in a small stream fed mainly on aquatic insect larvae and had a more varied diet. Seasonal shifts in the diet for both juvenile and adult minnows were observed. The smaller length groups changed from benthic feeding in spring to mainly mid-water feeding in summer. The larger fish prey on corixids in sumer but switch to mainly chiro-nomid larvae and zooplankton in winter. The minnows fed actively during the day with peak feeding in mid-morning and at dusk. It is suggested that the euryphagous feeding behaviour of B. anoplus is partially responsible for the widespread distribution of this species in southern Africa and for the successful colonization of the new shoreline habitat of Lake Le Roux. A review of the feeding biology of small Barbus species...