STUDY ON GUT CONTENT OF MALE FRESHWATER MURREL CHANNA PUNCTATUS OBTAINED FROM VARIOUS WATER BODIES IN PATNA DISTRICT OF BIHAR

The present study on gut content of freshwater murrel Channa punctatus in different water bodies in Patna district of Bihar indicates that the average Relative Length Gut value from the fishes in group A (having size lesser than 12 cm) was 0.678, while for the fishes in group B(having size greater than 12 cm), it was 0.636. The average Gastro-Somatic Index ranged from 2.1 to 4.8 for male species of Channa punctatus fishes. The maximum value of the Gastro-Somatic Index (GaSI) was 4.86 for males during October. Analysis of gut content indicated the various patterns of season, with the gut content comprising of insects at about 36.48%, followed by plant matter which was found to be 18.45%, the fishes were at 16.21%, the crustaceans were found to occur at 9.11%, zooplankton at 10.3%, miscellaneous content at 7.25%, and annelids at 2.2%, sorted according to preference. This reflects a broad food spectrum of Channa punctatus but is dominated by carnivorous items with 81.45%.