Journal of Global Biosciences ISSN 2320-1355 Volume 3, Number 6, 2014, pp. 890-894 Website: www.mutagens.co.in E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

Research Paper FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS AND CONDITION FACTOR OF LABEO COUBIE (AFRICAN CARP) IN LOWER RIVER BENUE Adadu, M.O1., S. Omeji 2 and M.E. Oyeniyi2 1Department

of Fisheries Technology, Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology, Baga, P.M.B. 1060, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria 2department Of Fisheries And Aquaculture, University of Agriculture, P.M.B. 2373, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. Abstract

Fifty samples of Labeo coubie was taken from the catches of the fishermen at Wadata landing site of River Benue in Makurdi, Benue State. The fish were caught using gill nets of mesh sizes ranging between 20mm and 35mm for a period of two months with a sampling frequency of fourteen day interval. The total length of the samples of Labeo coubie ranged from 10.6cm to 43.0cm. The standard length ranged from 8.7cm to 39.0cm and the body weight from 16.4g to 746.0g. The mean standard length for Labeo coubie was 20.79+0.39. The condition factor, K of the samples was calculated using the formula; (K) = 100W⁄ L3. It was evident that Labeo coubie in Lower Benue River were in good. The mean body weight was 183.23+22.13 showing the mean condition factor of 1.84+0.12. Out of the fifty (50) stomachs examined for food, forty two had food materials while eight had no food materials. In addition, out of the three major food materials (animal parts, plant materials and detritus), plant materials constituted the major food materials (47.62%) in the frequency of occurrence. Key words: Food, feeding habits, condition factor, Labeo cubie River Benue. INTRODUCTION

Fish play an important role in the development of a nation. Apart from being a cheap source of highly nutritive protein, it also contains other essential nutrients required by the body 1. The food fish for the world population is produced from both aquaculture and capture fisheries. The fish consumed by human can either be freshwater or marine fish. An example of freshwater fish available for human consumption is the African Carp (Labeo coubie). Labeo coubie is species of fish identified by Ruppel in 1832, belonging to the family Cyprinidae and order Cypriniformes. Its body is covered with large cycloid scales, has

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protractile mouth without teeth in jaws. It is commonly found in creeks, rivers and lakes and they are more active at night 2. This species of fish and others however need effective management to make them sustainably available to people. One of the important tools for the management of fisheries resources is the length-weight relationship of the fish which is used to estimate the condition factor. Its importance is pronounced in estimating the average weight at a given length group 3 and in accessing the relative well being of the fish population 4. The study of condition factor is important to understand the life cycles of fish species and contribute to the maintenance of the ecosystem equilibrium 5. Condition index may be used to determine the reproductive time of fish species without sacrificing the organism and this could be a valuable tool to develop monitoring programs for the species fishery and culture program 6. An hypothesis has however been formulated that heavier fish of a given length are in better condition 7. In 1902, Fulton proposed the use of a mathematical formula that would quantify the condition of fish, showing the relationship between length and weight of fish: K = 10NW L3 “K” is the condition factor or coefficient of condition. “W” is the weight of the fish in grams (g). “L” is the standard length of the fish in millimeters (mm). “N” is a constant of which 2 has been widely adopted after series of verification and confirmations. (Adapted from 8). However, the length-weight parameters of the same species may be different in the population because of age of fish, sex, season, stage of maturation, fullness of gut, type of food consumed, amount of fat reserve and the degree of muscular development. There are four basic eating groups of fish; carnivores, herbivores, omnivores and limnivores. Each fish belonging to individual group needs to be properly placed and fed adequately. Proper feeding practices in fish are a matter of habit. This therefore necessitates more research on food and feeding habits on fishes such as Labeo coubie. The study of the food and feeding habit of freshwater fish species is a subject of continuous research because it contributes the basis for the development of a successful fisheries management programs on fish capture and culture 9 especially in multi species fishery 10. This serves as an important method to investigate trophic relationships in aquatic communities 11 therefore reducing intra and interspecific competition for ecological niche 12. Labeo coubie is a fish of high economic value in River Benue, which has been found to occur in great abundance. Study of dietary habits of fish is based on stomach content analysis which is widely use in fish ecology as an important means of investigating tropic relationship in the aquatic communities 13. Out of the four species of the Africa carp belonging to the genus (Labeo senegalensis,Labeo pseudocoubie,Labeo rohita and labeo coubie), Labeo coubie is the commonest of all the members of genus 13.

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Journal of Global Biosciences ISSN 2320-1355

Vol. 3(6), 2014 pp. 890-894

This study therefore aimed at studying the Length-Weight relationship, Food and Feeding habits of African Carp (Labeo coubie) in the lower River Benue, Nigeria in pursuit of adding to the existing knowledge on the biology of Labeo coubie. MATERIALS AND METHODS River Benue, the second largest river in Nigeria has great influence on the commercial activities of the area, since some of the people take to fishing as means of livelihood because of the numerous fish fauna that abound in the river. A total sample size of 50 Labeo coubie was taken from the catches of the fishermen at Wadata landing site of River Benue in Makurdi, Benue State. The fishermen using gill nets of mesh sizes ranging between 20mm and 35mm were liaised with from whose catches the samples were taken. The sampling period spanned through two months, adopting the sampling frequency of fourteen day interval. The fish specimens were identified using 2, properly washed and gently packed in ice box for transfer to the laboratory. Measurement of the standard length was taken on the left side of the fish with a graduated measurement board to the nearest 0.1cm and weighed fresh using a digital balance (Adam Model AAA 250L) to the nearest 0.1g. The fish specimen were dissected with the aid of stainless steel scissors and forceps, carefully removing the gut with pair of throngs and the guts were preserved in 5% formalin in glass ware while awaiting analysis. The condition factor was calculated by the formula: Condition Factor (K) = 100W⁄ L3. Where, W= weight in grams; and L= Total Length (cm). The stomach contents were observed and food items were identified to the lowest possible taxon under low power magnification of binocular microscope using 9. The stomach content analysis was done using the frequency of occurrence and percentage composition by number methods as described by 14. In the frequency of occurrence method, the number of stomach containing each item was expressed as percentages of all non-empty stomach. In numerical method, the number of individuals in each food category is expressed as a percentage of the total individual in all food categories. This gives room for adequate comparison of results of each analysis. RESULTS Table 1 shows the statistical parameters of the studied fish sample. The total length of the samples of Labeo coubie ranged from 10.6cm to 43.0cm. The standard length ranged from 8.7cm to 39.0cm and the body weight from 16.4g to 746.0g. The mean standard length for Labeo coubie was 20.79+0.39. It was evident that Labeo coubie in Lower Benue River were in good condition, taking a critical look at the mean condition factor and the standard deviation. The mean body weight was 183.23+22.13 showing the mean condition factor of 1.84+0.12 while Table 2 shows the categories of well being of the fish as described by their condition factors.

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Journal of Global Biosciences ISSN 2320-1355

TABLE 1: STATISTICAL PARAMETERS OF COUBIE. STATISTICAL STANDARD TOTAL PARAMETERS LENGTH(cm) LENGTH(cm) Mean 20.79+0.392 24.71+1.04 Standard 6.48 7.34 Deviation Chi Square 1.00 1.00 Minimum 8.70 10.60 Maximum 39.00 43.00

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SOME GROWTH VARIABLES OF LABEO WEIGHT (g) 183.23+22.13 156.50

GUT LENGTH(cm) 5.82+0.41 2.89

CONDITION FACTOR 1.09+0.75 0.53

1.00 16.40 746.00

0.951 2.30 16.40

1.00 0.20 2.45

TABLE 2: CATEGORIES OF THE WELL BEING OF LABEO COUBIE GROUP OF CONDITION FACTOR FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE 0.00 – 0.80 16 32 0.81 – 1.61 26 52 1.62 – 2.45 8 16

DESCRIPTION Poor – Fair Good–Very Good Excellent

Table 3 shows the results of the stomach content analysis of Labeo coubie. The results showed that out of the fifty (50) stomachs for food, forty two had food materials while eight had no food materials. In addition, out of the three major food materials (animal parts, plant materials and detritus), plant materials constitutited the major food materials (47.62%) in the frequency of occurrence. TABLE 3: SUMMARY OF STOMACH CONTENTS ANALYSIS OF LABEO COUBIE. FOOD ITEMS NUMERICAL METHODS FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE METHODS NUMBER % FREQUENCY % Animal Parts 93 43.06 15 35.71 Plant Materials 123 56.94 20 47.62 Detritus 7 16.67 NOTE: Number of Stomachs examined for food = 50 Number of Stomachs containing food = 42 Number of Stomachs without food = 8 DISCUSSION Analysis of the condition factors of Labeo coubie from Lower River Benue showed that majority of the fish were in good condition with the mean condition factor well above the average of 1.00. This is an indication that the environmental conditions of the water body are at optimum level, giving the fish a good condition of growth and development. Also, the fish could be affirmed to have abundance of food item which determines the development of fish to a great extent as pointed out by 15 who used condition factor of three species of fish as the bio-indicator of recovery of Louisiana Gulf Coast from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The condition factor of Labeo coubie from Lower River Benue therefore showed that there was high productivity in the river. The result of the gut content analysis for Labeo coubie from Lower River Benue showed that the fish is predominantly a plant eater. However, both the numerical and frequency of occurrence methods of analysis showed a close range in the values for plant materials and animal parts indicating that the fish could be classified as an omnivore. The result is in consonance with the findings of 2 who reported that the diet of Labeo coubie was mainly epipelagic algae and mud. This also is a pointer to the fact that the fish is a pelagic dweller.

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Journal of Global Biosciences ISSN 2320-1355

Vol. 3(6), 2014 pp. 890-894

CONCLUSION Labeo coubie being in good condition in Lower River Benue therefore shows that there is good productivity in the water and that the fish is utilizing the abundance of plant materials well. Labeo coubie can therefore be used as a biological control of aquatic flora.

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