Bangladesh J. Prog.Sci.& Tech.

7(2); July 2009 ISSN1609-5260

FOOD AND FEEDING BEHAVIOUR OF GREY MULLET, MUGIL CEPHALUS (L), OF

BANGLADESH COASTALWATER

Rafiqul Islam1, M Belal Hossain2*, NG Das1 and Rashed-Un-Nabi Rafi1

Institute of Marine Science and Fisheries, Chittagong University, Bangladesh
Dept. of Fisheries and Marine Science, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Bangaldesh, Email:
belalhossain@yahoo.com

Abstract

This study was conducted based on monthly examination of gut contents of 120 Mugil cephalus over a
period of one year ranging from February 2000 to January 2001. It was found to feed mainly on diatoms,
algae, copepods, decayed organic matter, sand & mud. The average percentage composition of food items
in the stomach of Mugil cephalus were diatoms 39.42%, algae 13.75%, copepods 7.17%, decayed organic
matter 12.50% and sand and mud 27.17%. The maximum quantity of food (47%) was recorded in the
month of June. Dietary components of Mugil cephalus proved undoubtedly that the fish obtains its diet
consisting mainly of fresh and decaying algae from the benthic zones. So the fish was found to be
herbivore.

Key words: Food, Feeding habit and grey Mullet

Introduction better fish production. For some fish,

M. cephalus belonging to the family
Mugilidae is widely distributed in
tropical and subtropical waters
throughout the world where its members
grow well on algae and detritus (Oren,
1975). In Bangladesh it occurs mainly in
the estuaries of Karnafully, Bakkhali,
Matamuhuri and Naff rivers and the
coastal areas of the Bay of Bengal like
north and south Kattali, Swandhip,
Cox’s Bazar, Moheshkhali, St. Martin
and mangrove areas of St. Falakate,
Chakaria. It is locally called “Khorul
Bata”. This fish and several other
cogenus are the principal fishes for
brackish water fish culture as they
possess high quality meat, extreme
salinity and temperature tolerance and
have a low position in the food chain.
Many species the family serve as table
fishes known for their delicacy, flavour
and taste.
The food habit of fishes varies from
month to month Food and feeding
habits, the inherent characteristics of the
fishes, are the most important factors for
feeding is almost continuous, for others,
it is circadian or seasonal cycles (Royce,
1972). The food and feeding habits of
fishes vary from species to species, from
place to place and season to season, and
it may even varies within the same
species in different ages and sexes due to
changes in the composition of food
organisms occurring at different seasons
of the year. These changes may greatly
affect the ecological relations,
particularly competition and predation
among the species and alter the
composition of food organisms. They
may thus influence the seasonal feeding
patterns of fishes.
For efficient culture and management
practice of fish resource, the knowledge
of food and feeding habits of fishes are
very significant. Most studies on the
food and feeding habits of fishes regard
to food requirement at different stage of
growth emphasized the need to study the
food and feeding habits of a species in
more details.
Several studies on the food and feeding
habits of mullet have been made in
Bangladesh J. Prog.Sci.& Tech. 7(2); July 2009
different countries by many workers
(Angell, 1973; Bruthet, 1975; Das, 1980;
Zarka, 1970 and Ermen, 1961 on Mugil
curema, Mugil cephalus, Liza tade,
Mugil saliens and Mugil chelo
respectively. Though grey mullet
constitutes one of the important brackish
water fishery items of Bangladesh, no
reliable information is still available on
their food and feeding habits. So, the
present investigation was undertaken to
find out the food particles and their
percentage compositions in the gut of the
species in different seasons.
Materials and Methods
For monthly examination of gut contents
of Mugil cephalus, samples were
collected from the Fish Landing Center,
Fishery Ghat, Baddhar Ghat, Kazir
Dewry, Riyazuddin Bazar of Chittagong
over a period of one year ranging from
February 2000 to January 2001. After
collection, the fishes were brought to the
laboratory of the Institute of Marine
Sciences, University of Chittagong, for
further analysis.
At first the fishes were washed
thoroughly with clean water and blotted
the excess water. The fishes were then
dissected out on a tray by sharp scissors,
and then the entire alimentary canals of
the fishes were taken out immediately
and preserved in 5% formalin in labeled
vials and stored for examination. The
contents of the guts were carefully
examined in 70% ethyl alcohol on a
petridish. Samples from fore, mid and
hind guts were taken for the analysis.
The food items then were examined by
the help of counting chamber
(Sedgewick Rafter) under a compound
microscope. Whenever possible, food
items were identified upto generic level
following Davis(1965) and Wickstead
ISSN1609-5260
(1965). To analyze the food contents of
the guts, the occurrence and points
(volume) methods (Pillay, 1952 and
Hyslop, 1980) were followed.
Results and Discussion
The percentage and monthly occurrence
of food items in the guts of Mugil
cephalus are given in table1 and figure 1
respectively. The stomach contents were
composed of the followings: diatoms,
algae belonging to the families of
Chlorophyceae, Myxophyceae and
Rhodophyceae, decayed organic matters,
copepods and fine particles of sand as
well as mud.
The maximum quantity of food (47%)
was recorded in the month of June.
Seasonal fluctuations were observed in
the volume and compositions of food
consumed by the fish. These fluctuations
were correlated with the relative
abundance of these food materials in the
environment. These were invariably
found along with sand grains, mud and
decayed organic matter from the bottom
zones.
The various forms of diatoms were
identified from the stomach contents.
Among these, Pleurosigma sp., Navicula
sp. and Coscinodiscus sp. were the most
prominent genera.
Algae occupied 13.75% of the total
stomach contents. The maximum (18%)
was reported in the month of March.
Spirogyra sp. was the most prominent
species, which occurred throughout the
year.
Diatom is the favorite food of Mugil
cephalus, which can be compared with
the observation shown by Bruthet
(1975). He found the greatest abundance
of diatoms was about 48%. The
percentage of other food particles was
not prominent and their variations
Bangladesh J. Prog.Sci.& Tech. 7(2); July 2009
showed more or less same throughout
the year. The order of abundance of
algae and diatoms in the present
observation is in slightly disagreement
with that of Rangaswamy (1973) who
reported that in marine environment the
gut content of Mugil cephalus contains
26.72% algae and 22.76% diatoms.
Amongst algal foods he reported only
Chlorophyceae and Myxophyceae and
no Cyanophyceae but in the present
analysis Cyanophyceae has been
represented by Microcystis in the gut
content of Mugil cephalus.
Bruthet (1975) and Rangaswamy (1973)
classified Mugil cepalus as a herbivore
as they recorded more than 70% plant
materials and rest were sand and mud in
the gut contents of the fish. Their results
mostly support the present investigation.
Copepods were found only in small
quantities forming 7.17% of the total
food consumed. Both Calanoid and
Cyclopoid copepods were identified; of
these Calanoid copepods formed the
most common item and no marked
ISSN1609-5260
variation was observed throughout the
year, which agrees with the findings of
Zarka (1970).
The decayed organic matter constituted
12.50% of the total food consumed
throughout the year and the maximum
(16%) was recorded in the month of
December.
The fine sand grains and the mud formed
27.17% of the total stomach contents
and the maximum (36%) was recorded
in the month of August. These two items
present in the stomach contents indicated
that the fish is a browser on bottom
deposits. While feeding at the bottom,
fish naturally consumed some amount of
sand grains and mud along with its food
items.
From the investigation it may be
concluded that Mugil cephalus is a
bottom feeder as well as herbivorous as
its food mainly composed of fresh and
decaying plant matter and showed the
evidence of their food ingestion from the
sandy and muddy bottom.
Bangladesh J. Prog.Sci.& Tech. 7(2); July 2009 ISSN1609-5260

50 % of diatom s

% of algae

% of copepods

% of decayed organic
m atter
40 % of s and & m ud

30
Percentage

20

10

November
June
April

July

October
March

August
May
February

January
December
September
Months

Fig.1. Percentage of stomach contents of Mugil cephalus from

February 2000 to January 2001.
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