<< I just prepared a couple of large gizzard shad for skeletonization this
past
weekend, and was awed by the gill raker morphology. They do form an
amazingly efficient sieve, but I can't believe that they can filter bacteria
directly... although they DO have a black peritoneum and a very long gut,
which you typically find in herbivores like Campostoma or Dionda or
Acrocheilus.
The problem with gizzard shad in reservoirs is that up to 22 mm total length
they feed on protozoans and microcrustaceans, thus potentially competing
with larval gamefish for food, and they get big and deep-bodied, thus
avoiding predation from most indigenous piscivores. Adults apparently do not
visually feed, but just sieve zooplankton (both microcrustaceans and
phytoplankton). >>
I guess that answers my question on what gizzard shad eat.
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