Studies on the feeding habits of red snappers, Lutjanus sanguineus and L. sebae

Examination of stomach contents were carried out on 276 Lutjanus sanguineus and 129 L. sebae in an attempt to study the feeding habits of the two commercially important demersal fishes occurring in the southern South China Sea. The studies show that although their feeding habits are rather flexible, their diet consists mainly of fishes, crustaceans (especially crabs and stomatopods) and cephalopod molluscs. The result of the present study is in general agreement with the diet of other Lutjanus species from different areas as reported by some workers. However, the data presented here are rather different from the diet of L. sauguineus in the Tonkin Bay (Vien, 1968). The feeding habits of both species are well suited for a demersal life, and they occupy the highest niche in the bottom ichthyofauna in the South China Sea. The reaction between the regurgitation rate and the depth of the fishing ground as well as the regression of stomach length against the total length of fish were also determined