Morphology of the diet in the gut of threatened yellow catfish Horabagrus brachysoma (Gunther 1864) at two life stages.

The diet composition of fingerlings and adults of Horabagrus brachysoma, a threatened, freshwater catfish, endemic to South India, collected from the Periyar River of Kerala in south India was studied using standard methods. The results of the stomach content analysis revealed that the species is an omnivore, predominantly feeding on animal matter in the young stage and plant matter in the adult stage. Based on the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that H. brachysoma collected from Periyar River is a benthophagic omnivore and that adults prefer dietary fractions of plant origin over animal tissues. An ontogenic diet shift from carnivorous to more pronounced omnivorous nature is exhibited by the fish. The fish is adapted for a wide spectrum of feeding habits including the ability to digest all major types of nutrients and these findings will help to formulate a more economically viable and nutritionally balanced diet for the artificial rearing of this cultivable catfish.