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Abstract
This study was conducted to provide the database on the nutritional biology of the spotted butterfly loach (Sewellia albisuera), thereby supporting conservation and aquaculture development strategies. The main research components included: describing the characteristics of the digestive system; evaluating the relationship between gut length and body length (RGL); monitoring variations in stomach fullness over time and across fish size classes; and analyzing the composition of food items contained in the digestive tract. The results showed that the species possesses a downward-facing, broadly curved mouth, with numerous papillae along the mouth margin and a hardened, keratinized upper lip, but lacks teeth. The gill rakers are short and soft; the esophagus is short; the stomach is clearly differentiated; and the intestine is 2.28 times the body length. Stomach fullness increased remarkably during two main periods of the day: morning (08:00 - 11:00) and late afternoon to early evening (18:00 - 19:00). Seasonal variation in stomach fullness was also evident, with the highest values recorded in July and August. Fish smaller than 35 mm exhibited the highest stomach fullness, whereas individuals larger than 75 mm showed significantly lower fullness levels. Analysis of the digestive tract contents identified five major food groups, among which diatoms and green algae were dominant.
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How to Cite
Vo Dieu, Nguyen Van Hue, Nguyen Duc Thanh, & Phan Do Da Thao. (2026). Nutritional characteristics of the spotted butterfly hillstream loach (Sewellia albisuera Freyhof, 2003) distributed in Hue City. E-Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 10(3), 5784–5792. https://doi.org/10.46826/huaf-jasat.v10n3y2026.1369
Section
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY - VETERINARY MEDICINE - AQUACULTURE- ANIMAL SCIENCES
Copyright @ 2017-2026 by E-Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
References
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Bellinger, E.G., & Sigee, D.C. (2010). Freshwater Algae Identification and Use as Bioindicators. A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Publication, 271 pages.
Desai, V.R. (1970). Studies on the fishery and biology of tortor (Hamilton) from river Narmada. Journal of the Inland Fisheries Society of India, 2, 101-112
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Montgomery, W. L. & Pollak, P. E. (1988). Gut anatomy and pH in a Red Sea surgeonfish, Acanthurus nigrofuscus. Marine ecology - Progress series, 44, 7-13.
Nikolsky, G. V. (1963). The Ecology of fish (Translated from Russian by L. Birkett). Academic Press.
Roberts, T. R. (1998). Systematic revision of the balitorid loach genus Sewellia of Vietnam and Laos, with diagnoses of four new species. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 46(2), 271-288.
Ruppert, E. E. & Barnes, R. D. (1994). Invertebrate zoology (sixth edition). Saunders College Publishing.
Shalaby, W. (2020). Comparative morphological and histological studies on the adaptation of esophagus and stomach to the feeding habits in some coral reef fishes at Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries, 24(5), 289 - 306. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21608/ejabf.2020.105059
Thompson, C., Silva, R., Gibran, F. Z., Bacha, L., de Freitas, M. A. M., Thompson, M., Landuci, F., Tschoeke, D., Zhang, X.-H., Wang, X., Zhao, W., Gatts, P. V., de Almeida, M. G., de Rezende, C. E. & Thompson, F. (2024). The Abrolhos Nominally Herbivorous Coral Reef Fish Acanthurus chirurgus, Kyphosus sp., Scarus trispinosus, and Sparisoma axillare have Similarities in Feeding But Species Specific Microbiomes. Microbial Ecology, 87, 110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-024-02423-x
Volkoff, H. & Rønnestad, I. (2020). Effects of temperature on feeding and digestive processes in fish. Taylor and Francis,7(4), 307-320. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2020.1765950
Wehr, J. D. & Sheath, R. G. (2003). Freshwater algae of North America ecology and classification. Academic Press.
Nguyễn Văn Hảo. (2005). Cá nước ngọt Việt Nam, tập II. Nhà xuất bản Nông nghiệp Hà Nội, Hà Nội.
Phạm Hoàng Hộ. (1972). Tảo học. Trung tâm học liệu Bộ giáo dục, Hà Nội.
Phạm Thanh Liêm và Trần Khắc Định. (2004). Phương pháp nghiên cứu sinh học cá. Tủ sách Đại học Cần Thơ, Cần Thơ.
Vũ Cẩm Lương. (2008). Cá cảnh nước ngọt. Nhà xuất bản Nông Nghiệp, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh.
Võ Văn Phú và Nguyễn Duy Thuận. (2009). Cấu trúc thành phần loài cá ở hệ thống sông Ô Lâu, tỉnh Thừa Thiên Huế. Tạp chí khoa học Đại học Huế, 55, 61-71.
Võ Văn Phú và Trần Thụy Cẩm Hà. (2009). Đa dạng thành phần loài cá ở hệ thống sông Bù Lu thuộc huyện Phú Lộc, tỉnh Thừa Thiên Huế. Tạp chí Khoa học Đại học Huế, 49, 111-121.
Võ Điều, Trần Văn Việt, Phan Đỗ Dạ Thảo và Võ Văn Chí. (2019). Một số đặc điểm dinh dưỡng cá Tỳ bà bướm hổ (Sewellia lineolata) phân bố tại tỉnh Thừa Thiên - Huế. Tạp chí Nông nghiệp và Phát triển nông thôn, 2, 93-99.
Al-Hussany, A.H. (1949). On the functional morphology of the alimentary tract of some fishes in relation to differences in their feeding habits. Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, 9(2), 190-240.
Bellinger, E.G., & Sigee, D.C. (2010). Freshwater Algae Identification and Use as Bioindicators. A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Publication, 271 pages.
Desai, V.R. (1970). Studies on the fishery and biology of tortor (Hamilton) from river Narmada. Journal of the Inland Fisheries Society of India, 2, 101-112
Facendola, J. J., & Scharf, F. S. (2012). Seasonal and ontogenetic variation in the diet and daily ration of estuarine red drum as derived from field-based
estimates of gastric evacuation and consumption. Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science, 4, 546-559. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19425120.2012.699018
Freyhof, J. (2003). Sewellia albisuera a new balitorid loach from Central Vietnam (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 14(3), 225-230.
Garrido, S., Murta, A. G., Moreira, A., Ferreira, M. J. & Angélico, M. M. (2008). Horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) stomach fullness off Portugal: index calibration and spatio-temporal variations in feeding intensity. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65(9), 1662-1669. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsn169
Hynes, H.B.N. (1950). The food of fresh - water sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus and Pygosteus pungitius), with a review of methods used in studies of the food of fishes. Journal of Animal Ecology, 19(1), 36-58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1570
Kock, K. H., Wilhelms, S., Everson, I. & Groger, J. (1994). Variations in the diet composition and feeding intensity of mackerel icefish Champsocephalus gunnari at South Georgia (Antarctic). Marine Ecology Progresss Series, 108, 43-57.
Liu, Y. Kou, C., Chen, J., Li, Y. & Li, J. (2024). The response of the gut physiological function and microbiome of a wild freshwater fish (Megalobrama terminalis) to alterations in reproductive behavior. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25, 7425. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25137425
Mahesh, V., Ambarish, G. P. & Nair, R. J. (2018). Chapter 13: Stomach Content Analysis Techniques in Fishes. In: A. Gopalakrishnan, R. J. Nair, S. A. P. Gop & V. Mahesh (Eds), ICAR Sponsored Winter School on Recent Advances in Fishery Biology Techniques for Biodiversity Evaluation and Conservation (pp. 104-115). Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Kochi, Kerala.
Montgomery, W. L. & Pollak, P. E. (1988). Gut anatomy and pH in a Red Sea surgeonfish, Acanthurus nigrofuscus. Marine ecology - Progress series, 44, 7-13.
Nikolsky, G. V. (1963). The Ecology of fish (Translated from Russian by L. Birkett). Academic Press.
Roberts, T. R. (1998). Systematic revision of the balitorid loach genus Sewellia of Vietnam and Laos, with diagnoses of four new species. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 46(2), 271-288.
Ruppert, E. E. & Barnes, R. D. (1994). Invertebrate zoology (sixth edition). Saunders College Publishing.
Shalaby, W. (2020). Comparative morphological and histological studies on the adaptation of esophagus and stomach to the feeding habits in some coral reef fishes at Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries, 24(5), 289 - 306. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21608/ejabf.2020.105059
Thompson, C., Silva, R., Gibran, F. Z., Bacha, L., de Freitas, M. A. M., Thompson, M., Landuci, F., Tschoeke, D., Zhang, X.-H., Wang, X., Zhao, W., Gatts, P. V., de Almeida, M. G., de Rezende, C. E. & Thompson, F. (2024). The Abrolhos Nominally Herbivorous Coral Reef Fish Acanthurus chirurgus, Kyphosus sp., Scarus trispinosus, and Sparisoma axillare have Similarities in Feeding But Species Specific Microbiomes. Microbial Ecology, 87, 110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-024-02423-x
Volkoff, H. & Rønnestad, I. (2020). Effects of temperature on feeding and digestive processes in fish. Taylor and Francis,7(4), 307-320. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2020.1765950
Wehr, J. D. & Sheath, R. G. (2003). Freshwater algae of North America ecology and classification. Academic Press.