Variation of Food and feeding habit of Hilsa, Tenualosa ilisha in the middle reaches of Brahmaputra river system, Assam, India

Authors

  • Makibur Rahman

Abstract

The anadromous migratory shad Hilsa, Tenualosa ilisha is plankton feeder fish. The food and feeding habit of Hilsa shows a great variation.Early and post-larval stage, Hilsa are planktophagus and mainly subsist on crustaceans and algae while the juveniles Hilsa prefer crustaceans besides consuming plant matter and insects. During August the amount of preponderance were highest (80.92%) compared to the April (15.65%) which was recorded as the lowest amount of preponderance. Zooplankton was the main food of the juvenile Hilsa (index of preponderance) average of 53.29%. Copepods and Rotifers were represented the chief food materials in that size range of Hilsa. Phytoplankton specially algae and diatoms were recognized the chief food item constituting 45.50% of the total food materials in the adult mature Hilsa. Blue-green algae specially Spirogyra, Eudornia and Pediatrum were encountered in the pre-spawning periods with an average I1valueof 14.53%. Diatom encountered predominant in the post-spawning months with an average I1 of 10.88%. Copepods specially Cyclops were the chief food materials preferred by smaller sized Hilsa. The present study tries an attempt to analyze the variation of food and feeding habit of Hilsa, Tenualosa ilisha in the middle reaches of Brahmaputra river system, Assam, India

Key words : Hilsa, Tenualosa ilisha, Phytoplankton, Zooplankton,

Published

2020-12-21

Issue

Section

Articles