Lake Kariba
Lake Tanganyika sardines are omnivorous, feeding mainly on zooplankton and phytoplankton. In Lake Kariba studies over time have shown that they opportunistically feed on the most abundant prey at any given time and different samples have shown the main prey to be "Bosmina longirostris", "Mesocyclops spp" and "Ceriodaphnia dubia". Lake Tanganyika sardines may have caused a decline in the abundance of some larger zooplankton species, e.g. "Diaptomus", "Ceriodaphnia" and "Diaphanosoma", which were more abundant in Lake Kariba prior to 1971 but as no stomach contents were sampled then we cannot be certain what caused their decline. In Lake Tanganyika prey has been recorded as atyid shrimps, also copepods and prawns but larger fish have been known to prey on the larva of the Lake Tanganyika sprat. Other food items include insects, such as chironomids, ephemeroptera, trichoptera and hemiptera and in some Lake Kariba samples these formed 55% of the stomach contents sampled and it is indicated by these samples that these prey items are taken on the surface at night. In Lake Kivu cannibalism appears to be common and is suspected in the Lake Kariba population but these may also prey on other fish species, unidentified fish remains have been recorded in Kariba samples and a specimen of the Southern mouth-brooder "Pseudocrenilabrus philander" has been found in the stomach of specimen in Lake Kariba.