Identification and stomach content analysis of South-American Armored Catfish (SAC) collected from Marikina River, Marikina City

• Main Author: Faria, Karlo Angelo B.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2012
• Subjects: Biology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/2453
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study aimed to identify and analyze the stomach content of South-American armored catfish (SAC) in the Marikina River, Marikina City. A total of 60 specimens were used for species identification and 30 specimens for stomach content analysis. The species identification was done by careful observation of the abdominal coloration patterns, meristic characteristic, and morphometrics measurements. Stomach content analysis was done by extracting the stomach for their content then viewing the contents under a light microscope at 400x magnification. Identification of organisms in the stomach content was done with the use of online keys. After the analyses, two species of South American armored catfishes were identified Pterygoplichthys pardalis and Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus. There are 7 genera of phytoplankton identified from the stomach of 30 SACs samples belonging to 2 classes and 5 orders. Stomach content analysis of the specimens collected revealed that the diet of the said fishes is composed mostly of phytoplankton.