Re: egg eating was

["gkadar" <gkadar@idirect.ca>]

Kyle wrote:

>If (stress if, I know of no proof either) both wild and comm. raised fish
>(rams, kribs, what-have-you) exhibit this behaviour exclusively in aquaria.
>There are a couple things that could be at play.  Fish which generally lay
>200-300 eggs has no choice but to lay eggs when given the proper conditions
>(water quality, suitable mate, etc.). Now given that fish finds itself in a
>small glass cage (compared to the freedom of a boundless river or lake),
>could we not hypothesize that the fish has assessed its surroundings and
>deemed the physical area not suitable for the survival of itself, its mate
>and 200-300 young.  <snip>


>From what I've seen on the Discovery channel I tend to agree with Kyle in
some respects.  Whenever animals realize that their attempts to raise young
will, in all likelihood, be futile, they eat them.  There was a graphic
illustration of a mouse which, harried by a cat, consumed her youngsters and
then escaped.  In this way the nutrients used up to make the babies were not
wasted because the mouse had the nourishment within herself that otherwise
would have been a snack for the cat.  With more nourishment, the mouse then
had a better chance of breeding again and perhaps in a safer location.

Apparently this type of behaviour is quite widespread among animals and it's
not a far-fetched extrapolation to include fish as well.  (Mother cats have
been known to go 'overboard' licking their newborn kittens until they ended
up becoming a meal.....Sheesh, in some parts of the world, human beings eat
the placenta (of humans births, of course).......definitely not my idea of
gourmet dining....O.K. guys, you still have your breakfasts in place????
:) )

Gabriella




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