To investigate the food organisms and feeding selectivity of slimy (Leiognathus nuchalis) during the postlarval stage, the gut contents of the fish, captured in Kwangrang Bay in 1995, were observed. The food organisms in the gut were composed of copep...
To investigate the food organisms and feeding selectivity of slimy (Leiognathus nuchalis) during the postlarval stage, the gut contents of the fish, captured in Kwangrang Bay in 1995, were observed. The food organisms in the gut were composed of copepod egg and nauplius, Tintinnopsis spp. and Codonellopsis sp. The indices of relative importance (IRI) indicated that Tintinnopsis spp. was the most dominant food item ($80.6\%$), and copepod nauplius was the next ($18.5\%$). Tintinnopsis spp. was the most favorite food item: it occupied $73.8\%$ of gut contents, though it did $39.2\%$ of microzooplankton in the surrounded water. The composition of copepod nauplius was higher in the larvae shorter than 2.0 mm NL. As slimy larvae grew, the size of food organisms in the gut was not changed, and their number increased, and the selectivity for food items increased.