Feeding habits and stomach contents of Silver Sillago,

Abstract

The study investigated the stomach content of Sillago sihama in Hormuzgan Province waters located in the northern Persian Gulf from October 2009 to March 2010. The stomach analysis was carried out using frequency of occurrence and numeric methods. Diatoms, blue- green algae and dinoflagellates constituted main food of plant origin. Diatoms were found to be the most preferable food of plant origin where it occurred in more than 60.8% of food item by number and 59.5% by occurrence. Crustacean including crabs and their larvae, shrimps, copepods, eggs and larval forms comprised the maximum part of the food of animal origin. It was concluded that Sillago sihama in the Coastal waters of Hormuzgan Province is planktonivorous and feeding on a wide range of food of planktonic and benthic organisms.