Introduction
One of the more important inland fisheries in East Africa is the Tilapia fishery. These fish arc not only sold for local consumption but, dried or salted, they are exported in large numbers. Their popularity as a fish easily cultivated in ponds is growing but the natural population in the inland waters of East Africa produces by far the hugest contribution to the industry. The value of these fish to the economy of the country has led to a considerable
amount of research being done on them by the East African Fisheries Research Organization and others. Amongst the many factors influencing the growth of the fish, its food is of the greatest importance. Much remains to be done before
a complete understanding is reached of the food requirements of the species of Tilapia. but the data already collected show some rather unusual features. It is well known that they are herbivorous and. us in all herbivores, relatively
large quantities of material have to be eaten because a large proportion of the food is indigestible. It is important to know what part of the ingested material
is digested by the fish: this can be determined by comparing. under the microscope, the contents of the stomach with that of the rectum or by making chemical analyses of the gut contents
