Feeding Habits of Indian Flying Barb Esomus Danrica (Hamilton, 1822) From Upper Assam, India
Esomus Danrica’s feeding habits were studied at the Maijan wetland, and fish landing areas at Guijan Ghat, Brahmaputra River in upper Assam. E. danrica’s relative length of gut was 1.24 (+-0.52) in the >5 cm category, while it was 1.6 (+-0.77) in the 4-5 cm group. This indicates that the fish belongs to the carni-omnivorous category. The gastro somatic Index (GSI) was 1.799 + 1.396 (Dec), 6.499 + 2.690 (Apr), for males, and 1.81 + 0.700 (Nov), to 5.960 + 1.497 for females. The minimum GSI for males was 3.31 +-1.7 in the immature stage, and 5.14 +- 1.04 in the mature stage. For females, the maximum (4.55+-1.3) and minimum (2.24 +-1.1) were observed in mature and mature stages. Active feeding was observed in November (66.7%), moderate feeding in May (61.8%) and poor feeding in August (48.5%). With a small percentage, empty stomachs were also reported throughout the year. The highest level of active feeding (41.1%) was found in ripe species, followed by moderate feeding (47.4%), poor feeding (25%), and mature feeding (25%) respectively. Immature had the highest percentage (25%) of empty stomachs.