Food and Feeding Habits of Fish

Food is the essential components of life for every living thing in the living world. Every
living thing, regardless of plant or animal, takes food from its own environment. So the
nutrition of any animal depends on the intake of food and water. Animals consume food
for three main purposes, namely:
(1) Food provides energy to control various biological functions in the body such as
movement, muscle contraction and expansion, etc.
(2) Food is used as an essential ingredient for proper growth and repair of the body; and
(3) Food is the fuel that provides energy and maintains the body.
The essential nutrients of an animal are carbohydrates or sugars, proteins, fats, water,
minerals, salts and vitamins. The first three elements are used to build energy and the body
and the next three elements are used to control various functions of the body. Besides,
various organic ingredients such as choline, sterol, purine, and pyrimidine are important
for food.

Feeding groups of Fishes

Like other animals, fish need food to grow and survive. The materials that a fish consumes
for its growth, replenishment, energy production and reproduction is called fish food. Fish
need a lot of energy for various important processes of life, such as blood circulation,
respiratory management, hypertension control, suspension and submergence. Fish get this
energy from taking food.
1. Based on the characteristics of the food, fish are divided into the following
four groups:
i. Plankton Feeders
Fish that feed on plankton (phytoplankton and zooplankton) are called plankton eaters.
Most immature adult fish are usually plankton eater.
Some fish species take both zooplankton and phytoplankton. They take these types of food
by filtering water using their gill rackers. Gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) fry feed
on zooplankton until reach the length of one inch. They become a filter feeder after losing
their teeth and consume phytoplankton and some tiny invertebrates.
Menhaden (Brevoortia) is also filter feeder that prefers to feed mainly on phytoplankton.
They capture phytoplankton from the water using their gill rakers. Adult menhaden can
filter 4 gallons of water per minute and receive different phytoplankton and zooplankton
within their gills.
A silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) is also a filter feeder that has a special
filtration capacity. They can filter though their gills and consume lots of phytoplankton and
zooplankton.

ii. Herbivorous
This type of fish eats aquatic plants, flowers, fruits, seeds, leaves and young stems, detritus
along with some mud or sand. They also eat algae that grow on rocks or pebbles by mouth
using wide lips under their snout. Most of the herbivores live in the sea and are specially
adapted to eating a variety of foods. In this case, the plant materials in their food consist of
about 75% or more of the total gut contents while the animal-based food varies 1-10% in
its diet. For example, Labeo rohita, Catla catla, Labeo bata, Ctenopharyngodon idella,
Amblypharyngodon mola, Oreochromis mossumbicus, etc

Some sturgeon fish (Acanturidae), rabbit fish (Siganidae) and parrot fish (Scaridae) feed
on the algae created on the rocks by grazing by their serrated teeth.

Parrot fish use their beaks and rabbit fish use jaw-cutting nature structures.

iii. Carnivorous
Carnivores are meat-eating fish. They take large numbers of animals as food such as
Copepods, Cladocerans, insects such as beetles, water bugs, damsel flies, dragon flies,
larvae, mollusks, different small fishes, tadpole larvae, etc. Some notable carnivorous
fishes are Wallago attu, Channa punctatus, channa striatus, Channa marulius, Channa
gachua, Chitala chitala, Chanda nama, Chanda ranga, Rita rita, etc.
Such fish are usually predatory. Among them some are active predators such as Channa
marulius, Channa striatus, Wallago attu, Chitala chitala, Mystus seenghala, etc.

iv. Omnivorous
Fish that feed on both plants and animals are called omnivorous fish. These types of fish
eat all kinds of food. Although their favorite food is insects, they also eat vegetable-based
foods such as unicellular and filamentous algae, different aquatic plants when needed.
Besides, they take zooplankton such as crustaceans, rotifers, insects and its larvae, mud
and sands. During their young stage, most of the fish prefer to eat zooplankton. They
consume varying percentage of plants and animal materials.

Among omnivorous fishes, some feed on a large amount of plant materials. Some feed on
equal amount of animal and plant materials while other take a greater amount of animal
foods. Some important omnivorous fishes are Cyprinous carpio, Cirrhinus cirhosus, Tor
tor, Puntius ticto, Puntius sophore, Puntius sarana, Gadusia chapra, Colisa fasciatus,
Eutropicthyes vacha, etc.

2. Based on the variety of food choices, Nikolsky (1983) divided fish into the
following three groups, viz.
(1)Monophagic: This type of fish eats one kind of food.

(2) Stenophagic: This type of fish eats certain selected foods.

(3) Euryphagic: This type of fish eats a variety of foods.

3. Fish can also be classified into the following three types based on the niche
they occupy in different water levels.

i. Surface Feeders
They are plankton-eating in nature. The uppermost layer of water, where sunlight enters,
grows a large number of plankton which produce their food through the process of
photosynthesis using their chlorophyll. At this level oxygen is even higher which is suitable
for various animal organisms. Catla catla is mainly stay at this level to collect food. Silver
Carp is also a resident of this level. Besides, Puntius ticto, Oygaster bacaila, Chanda
ranga, Chanda nama, Glossogobious giuris,Tenualosa ilisha, Gadusia chapra, etc are
notable surface feeder fishes.

ii. Column Feeders

Some species of fishes take their food from the mid water. They are carnivorous or
omnivorous. At this level water waves are relatively few but zooplankton, phytoplankton
are available with sufficient amount of oxygen, suitable for fish. The fish that live here are
neither true bottom nor true surface feeders. They mostly depend on the food of the middle
layer of the water. Labeo rohita, Labeo bata, Tor tor, Puntius sophore, Mystus seenghala,
Wallago attu, Mystus vittatus, etc are the column feeder fishes.
iii. Bottom Feeders
They eat bottom food such as rotten food. At this level, lots of benthos live here that
provides nutrients to the fishes. Labeo calbasu, Labeo gonius, Cirrhinus cirrhosus, Puntius
sarana,Amblypharyngodon mola, Cirrhinus reba, Clarias batrachus, Heteropneustes
fossilis, Channa striatuis, Channa marulius, etc are notable bottom feeder fishes.

4. Fish can be divided into the following categories based on ingestion of food
or the type of prey and swallowing, e.g.

(1) Predators
Fish that eat large animals as food are called predatory fish. They have acquired some
general adaptations to take food. They have well-developed grasping and holding teeth,
such as many sharks (Elasmobranchii), Barracuda (Sphyraena), Pike (Esox), and Gars
(Lepisosteus). Their intestines tend to be smaller in size than herbivores.

Many predatory fish such as bluegill (Pomatomus saltarix) and many deep sea fish actively
hunt their prey. Other fish, such as the grouper (Epinephelus), often sit in wait till an animal
passess and then durt out to grasp it. Angler fishes (Lophidae and Antennariidae) have
developd an anterior ray of the first dorsal fin into a lure to attract their prey.

The Southeast Asian archer fish (Toxotes jaculata) preys on insects by spitting on nearby
trees. This fish has a well-developed aerial viewing system. Some predatory fishes hunt by
sight. Other fish, especially many sharks (Squaliformes), nocturnal fish such as bullheads
(Ictalurus) and Morays (Muraenidae), catch the prey by ensuring the position of the prey
with the help of smell, taste, touch and lateral line organs.

2. Grazers or Browsers
In most cases, small fish eat food by biting. However, sometimes the fish graze alone or in
small groups. This type of fish take many plankton or bottom animals as food. Bluegills
(Lepomus macrochirus) often eat the larvae of dipteran insects from the bottom of lakes.
Many small fish eat plankton-eating fish. Parrot fish (Scaridae) or butterfly
fish (Chaetodontidae) graze on coral reefs. They take pieces of polyps or algae from the
coral wall as food. Other fish suck on algae or rocks of the same shape if they accidentally
fall into their mouths.
3. Parasites
It is perhaps the most unusual and highly evolved feeding habit among animals. In this
case, one fish gets shelter and food from the other fish. Some parasitic fish, such as lamprey
(Petromyzonidae) and hagfish (Myxinidae), make holes in the sides of the host’s body to
absorb body fluids by sucking. Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) of the western North
Atlantic and adjacent continents live on the body of the whales as parasite and feed on
host’s body fluids by sucking.

Deep sea eel (Simenchelys parasitieus) is also parasitic. Some deep-sea male angler
(Ceratias) fish are mandatory parasites of female fish of the same species. In this case, after
some time of development, the male finds a female and attaches by his mouth to her body.

Female fish obligatory responds by develoing a fleshy papillae through which males can
absorb nutrients. In this case, the males are relatively small. The embryonic nutrient
absorption process is seen in the embryos of some baby fish.

4. Strainers
In this case, the fish swallows the living creatures that live in the water. In this case, the
food is selected as size. The gills of such fish are very large and are densely packed and
form a sieve. Large flocks of many herring-like fish such as Gizard Sads (Dorosoma) and
Menhadon (Brevortia tysanus) swim across the Atlantic coast of the United States toward
fertile plankton beds.

An adult Menhaden is capable of staining as much as 1-2 gallons of water per minute
by gill rakers. This fish can hold a few cubic centimeters of plankton, especially
diatoms and crustaceans, in this short time. Other large fish such as paddle fish
(Polyodon), basking shark (Cetorhinchus), whale shark (Rhinocodon typus) have
efficient adaptations in food selection or filtering.
Figure: Relationship of feeding habits with Gill raker; In Figure (a) to (c) the filtering
efficiency is gradually increased: (a) Round white fish (Prosopium cylindraceum) (b)
Lake white fish( Coregonus clupeaformis) (c) Black fin sisco (Coregonus nigripinnis)
[Source: Hubbs and Lagler 1959]

5. Suckers
In this case, the fish sucks food or food-carrying material inside the mouth. Bottom-
feeding fish such as sturgeon (Acipenseridae) and suckers (Catostomidae) have similar
feeding processes. Old World Minnows such as Fringelips, Labeo and Osteochilus have
inferior face and sucking lips. Moreover, some carp (Cyprinidae) species of Southeast
Asia have similar structures.

Figure: Differences in the development of sucking lips and mouth of three Red Horse
Suckers (Myxostoma): (a) Short head red horse(Myxostoma macrolepidotum) (b)
Golden Red horse (M. erythrurum) (c) Silver red horse(M. anisurum) [Source: Hubbs
and Lagler 1958]

In parrot fish, the incisor-like teeth come together to form the incisor lip at the edge.
This lip bites a piece of algae and brings it to the mouth separately. A series of
pharyngeal teeth in the mouth break them down, exposing the cells and extracting the
cell components with the help of digestive juices. Chewing teeth is also able to break
down the coral into pieces.

Animals of different types and sizes are needed for the food chain. Basic animal food
ingredients are animal plankton or zooplankton. Eggs and larvae of many species,
protozoa, microcrustacea and other microscopic invertebrates, fish eggs and larvae
include it. Large invertebrates such as Annelida, snails, oysters (Mollusca), crustaceans
and insects (Arthropoda), all species of vertebrates such as birds, mammals, reptiles,
amphibians, fish are all preyed upon as fish food. Even small rats, snakes and tortoises
can be found in the stomachs of pike (Esox), Lepisosteous or Amia.

Figure: Fish teeth and positional differences (a) Upper jaw of Flathead Catfish
(Pyloditis olivaris) (b) Deep sea viper fish (Chauliodus sloani) (c) Jaw and pharyngeal
teeth in the sagittal section of Parrot fish (Scaridae) (d) Lower jaw of Porgy (Sparidae)
(e) Curved teeth in the mouth of Eagle ray(Myliobatis)

Sometimes ducklings and small birds are also seen in the belly of goosefish (Lophius).
Moreover, frogs are also found in the stomachs of freshwater predatory fish. So frogs
are used to make bait to catch game fish. Even some fish such as Barracuda
(Sphyraena), some sharks, Piranha (Serrasalmus) fish attack humans. Bermuda
angelfish (Holacanthus bermudensis) change their eating habits as the seasons change.
They become completely vegetarian in winter and spring and become carnivorous in
early summer and monsoon.