Zoobenthos represents the basic and often sole diet component of juvenile salmonid fish that live in small streams or brooks. Abundance and biomass of benthic fauna often determine the body condition, development potential, and survival of the fish. This article presents the results of a benthic macrofauna survey carried out in three small rivers in terms of its availability as food base for juvenile salmonid fish. It has been demonstrated that such streams, due to their small sizes, are unsuitable for routine stocking. However, water quality and abundance of food organisms make such streams important in terms of stream rearing of juvenile salmonids. The food factor is reflected by characteristic macrofauna communities. We have found 5 classes of invertebrates in all the streams. Mean abundance ranged between 873.5 and 9967.7 indiv.·m^–2, with a high proportion of Gammaridae, exceeding 90%.

3-12