Today In The Fishroom~12/11/07

[Aquamojo]

I generally take left over vegetables from dinner down to the fishroom. Last night it was peas. Most of the fish in the various tanks will eat them no problem. A lot of the Parachromis and Amphilophus type fish will experiment and then spit the peas out. The others will readily eat them. ALL OF THE FISH in the pond gobble them up. They literally will eat whatever I throw in there. For the smaller Paratheraps/Vieja species I will squash the peas in my fingers to get the inside out.

Last night I mistakenly dropped a pea in the 100 gallon Freddie tank. I was suprised to see one of the smaller Freddies swallow an entire pea. So I started to drop in one at a time...with similar results. Some of the smaller Freddies would grab a pea and take off to the back of the tank. The other larger kept swallowing the peas.

I had to get a picture (quality sucks...but it illustrates the point) of the one fish that swallowed five peas. The last pea in his mouth reminded me of one of those ping-pong guns. By the time I had the camera set up the peas had receded back into his throat. No doubt the pharyngeal jaw working overtime to chew the food.

Some additional shots of the larger males. You can see some of their teeth as well as their distended bellies. The are voracious eaters.

 

[DeeCee]

HA! Where was that fish when I was a kid ????

My Mom always made me stay at the table until my Peas were gone. I spent a large portion of my childhood at the table with a plate full of peas in front of me!

DC

 

[Sonny Disposition]

What kind of fish is that? It's really neat. I'm glad he likes peas, because I absolutely hate them. When I was a kid, my parents tried making me eat them. They were so nasty, I couldn't swallow them--just gagged!

I generally take left over vegetables from dinner down to the fishroom. Last night it was peas. Most of the fish in the various tanks will eat them no problem. A lot of the Parachromis and Amphilophus type fish will experiment and then spit the peas out. The others will readily eat them. ALL OF THE FISH in the pond gobble them up. They literally will eat whatever I throw in there. For the smaller Paratheraps/Vieja species I will squash the peas in my fingers to get the inside out.

Last night I mistakenly dropped a pea in the 100 gallon Freddie tank. I was suprised to see one of the smaller Freddies swallow an entire pea. So I started to drop in one at a time...with similar results. Some of the smaller Freddies would grab a pea and take off to the back of the tank. The other larger kept swallowing the peas.

I had to get a picture (quality sucks...but it illustrates the point) of the one fish that swallowed five peas. The last pea in his mouth reminded me of one of those ping-pong guns. By the time I had the camera set up the peas had receded back into his throat. No doubt the pharyngeal jaw working overtime to chew the food.

Some additional shots of the larger males. You can see some of their teeth as well as their distended bellies. The are voracious eaters.

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[Aquamojo]

The fish is a Parachromis Fredrichsthali. It's in the same family of fish of a similar nature...Dovii, Managuense & Loiselli. If you saw them side by side you would note the similarity of body shape and design.

And I was shocked that they not only ate the peas...but really liked them.

 

[Sonny Disposition]

I should have guessed--another one of your monster cichlids.

I wonder which they like better--peas, or baby ducks?

The fish is a Parachromis Fredrichsthali. It's in the same family of fish of a similar nature...Dovii, Managuense & Loiselli. If you saw them side by side you would note the similarity of body shape and design.

And I was shocked that they not only ate the peas...but really liked them.[/b]