Vol. 12, Issue 6 (2023)

Author(s):
Zaib Hafiz, Farooz A Bhat, Tasaduq H Shah, Adnan Abubakr, Ashwani Kumar, Bilal A Bhat, Maheen Altaf and Asim Iqbal Bazaz

Abstract:
The examination of morphological features related to feeding in fish, as well as their relation with body length, are of increasing scientific interest. In the present study, intestine (gut) morphometrics have been analysed and discussed. The Gut morphometric parameters studied to investigate the feeding habit of Schizothorax esocinus are Gut length, Gut weight, Relative gut mass (RGM), Relative length of gut (RLG), Zihler’s index (ZI) and Gut Vacuity index (GVI). According to the results, total length and total weight of fish ranged from 145.05 to 428.97 mm and 69.74 to 719 g, respectively. The overall relative gut mass (RGM) and relative length of gut (RLG) values ranged from 0.01 to 0.13 with a mean value of 0.03±0.02 and 0.63 to 2.56 with a mean value of 1.22±0.33, respectively thereby exhibiting that S. esocinus is omnivorous in nature. The results revealed the Zihler’s index (ZI) values to be in the range of 3.05 to 12.75 with a mean value of 5.81±1.56, indicting the fish to be an omnivore. GVI values ranged from 0 to 33.33 with a mean value of 10.28±9.80 which revealed that S. esocinus is a relatively gluttonous species. This study will provide relevant information about the digestive habits and characteristics of the digestive tract of the specie, along with its position in the food chain.