The Food of the Aholehole, Kuhlia sandvicensis (Steindachner), 
in Hawaiian Waters^ 
Albert L. Tester and Shirley M. Trefz^ 
The aholehole, also known as the moun- 
tain bass, is an inshore fish which occurs in 
salt, brackish, and fresh waters throughout 
the Hawaiian Island chain. The young are 
fairly abundant along rocky shores, in tide 
pools, and within the mouths of streams 
which are connected to the sea. Juveniles are 
frequently encountered under wharves, in 
larger tide pools, and in brackish or fresh- 
water ponds, and streams. Adults are found 
in the caverns of wave-swept coral reefs, in 
the pounding surf at the base of cliffs, in 
sunken barges and other underwater obstruc- 
tions, and, occasionally, as schools in more 
open water. 
A study of the food of the aholehole was 
undertaken in connection with a general in- 
vestigation of the life history of the species 
to ascertain whether or not it could be reared 
in ponds. The investigation has been financed 
by and conducted under contract with the 
Industrial Research Advisory Council of the 
Territory of Hawaii (Project No. 29). 
We are indebted to Dr. Leonard D. Tuthill 
and Dr. D. Elmo Hardy of the University of 
Hawaii and Dr. Willis W. Wirth of the U. S. 
National Museum for the identification of 
certain insects; to Dr. Maxwell S. Doty and 
Dr. Albert H. Banner of the University of 
Hawaii for the identification of algae and cer- 
tain invertebrates. 
^ Contribution No. 40, Hawaii Marine Laboratory. 
2 Department of Zoology and Entomology, Uni- 
versity of Hawaii. Manuscript received February 11, 
1953. 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
Twenty-two samples of aholehole, com- 
prising 202 fish with food in their stomachs, 
were examined (Table 1). Small fish from 
fresh-water streams (samples 1 to 5), from a 
brackish- water canal (sample 6), and from 
tide pools or rocky shores (samples 7 to 14) 
were caught by seine, dip net, or, in a few 
cases, hook and line. Medium-size fish (sam- 
ples 15 and 16) were caught from rocky shores 
by hook and line. Large fish were caught by 
poisoning coral reef areas (samples 17 to 20), 
by spear fishing at a sunken barge (sample 
21), and by trap in an inshore channel (sam' 
pie 22). 
For the most part the small and medium- 
size fish were preserved in formalin imme- 
diately after capture. Later the fish were 
measured, the stomach removed, and the 
contents examined under a dissecting micro- 
scope. The length range of each sample is 
included in Table 1. Length is defined as the 
distance from the tip of the closed jaws to 
the end of the vertebral column (located with 
a probe). The large fish were measured and 
dissected as soon as possible after capture. 
In some cases, the unopened stomachs were 
placed in vials of formalin; in others the 
stomachs were opened and the contents were 
preserved in the vials. The latter procedure 
seemed more satisfactory, as digestion was 
halted sooner and the contents were more 
readily identified because of their better state 
of preservation. 
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