Catla is a surface feeder. Each of the developmental stages has their own feeding preferences and nutritional requirements. Maximum feeding activity of catla occurs during the morning hours (6.00 to 9.00) (Jana and Chakrabarti, 1988). Catla larvae show positive selection for cladocerans, copepods and nauplii.
Catla larvae start feeding 4 days after hatching on Brachionus spp., Ceriodaphnia spp. and Moina spp. (Chakrabarti and Sharma, 1997; Kumar and Chakrabarti, 1998; Kumar et al ., 2000). As the mouth gape increases they shift towards larger size prey like Daphnia spp. and active Mesocyclops sp. Fingerlings consume some planktonic algae, vegetable debris along with larger size zooplankton. Adults feed mainly on the surface and in mid-water. Adults are also planktivorous and show a preference for zooplankton (Table 1) (Natarajan and Jhingran, 1961; Jhingran, 1991).
