Re: Fish that go bad, or just got that way.

[Frauley/Elson <fraulels@minet.ca>]

Mr. Fish wrote:
 
> The fish that eat their babies see no reason to allow them to grow up
> and compete with their limited food resources.  And their limited space
> resources as well.
>
I dunno - it seems too neat to me.  
Could it be that the fish, which in the wild has evolved to hold a
territory maybe 10 foot square (ie. Pelvicachromis pulcher) can't handle
its inability to clear its territory in the much smaller tank? Whatever
it does, the predators (us included) won't go out of its sight.  How
does it react to that frustration? Some calm down with successive
spawnings (becoming 'good parents'), others never control their
misplaced aggression, especially if water conditions are another
stressor. 
Fish raised in aquaria are often easier to breed than wild-caught ones.
Now, maybe their metabolisms are used to the water, or maybe they've
genetically adapted to aquaria, but I can't help but wonder if it's
simply that they 'understand' their habitat, whereas wild fish are often
in fear of the weird stimuli coming from within and without the tank,
and never really settle down completely. 
On the other side, I remember my Cleithracara maronii guarding their fry
religiously from their tankmates, then going off on perfectly idiotic
looking swims together, for maybe ten minutes a day. Once I finished
cursing them, it occured to me that where they come from, going out for
a bite to eat as a couple must be possible. Maybe the
vegetation/population/choice of spawning sites makes that make sense,
where in a tankful of opportunistic apistos, it made them look like the
dumbest creatures on the planet.
It's all speculation, but I find it interesting. Not being convinced
anyone else does, I shall go away now.
Gary

 
> Obviously they can't stop them selves from multiplying but they can stop
> them selves from depleting their limited resources,
> 
 Again, we haven't even figured that one out. Are fish ahead of us on
that one. Maybe.

Gary


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