Fish racism

[Hybridfish7]

Are cichlids somehow aware of what they look like and have a bias against things that don't look like them?
On a more understandable scale I have a convict cutteri hybrids that is always fighting with my group of septemfasciata growouts, which is understandable because I'd imagine there are hormonal cues that help them identify eachother by species.
However, as some of you know with that convict breeding project last year that resulted in 5 different colors of fry being produced, I chose to only raise the platinums and some blues. I did try to put some black and pink fish with the platinums after raising a tank of only platinums for about a year, which only resulted in all the platinum fish hanging up on and killing their different colored siblings.
While I acknowledge the fact that they probably don't perceive concepts like our concept of racism, I still wonder if they are aware of what looks like them and if they have an inherent bias against things that don't look like them. However I am not sure how they would tell because the latter example is based on color variants of the same species and would not have hormonal cues, and unless they have a sense of self awareness when they see their reflection I'd imagine it's probably just a matter of them being raised with a bunch of fish that look the same and them just thinking they're the same as the fish they've been raised with (which they are), subsequently getting a reinforced sense of (what I guess you could call) identity.

 

[tlindsey]

Are cichlids somehow aware of what they look like and have a bias against things that don't look like them?
On a more understandable scale I have a convict cutteri hybrids that is always fighting with my group of septemfasciata growouts, which is understandable because I'd imagine there are hormonal cues that help them identify eachother by species.
However, as some of you know with that convict breeding project last year that resulted in 5 different colors of fry being produced, I chose to only raise the platinums and some blues. I did try to put some black and pink fish with the platinums after raising a tank of only platinums for about a year, which only resulted in all the platinum fish hanging up on and killing their different colored siblings.
While I acknowledge the fact that they probably don't perceive concepts like our concept of racism, I still wonder if they are aware of what looks like them and if they have an inherent bias against things that don't look like them. However I am not sure how they would tell because the latter example is based on color variants of the same species and would not have hormonal cues, and unless they have a sense of self awareness when they see their reflection I'd imagine it's probably just a matter of them being raised with a bunch of fish that look the same and them just thinking they're the same as the fish they've been raised with (which they are), subsequently getting a reinforced sense of (what I guess you could call) identity.

No fish racism most Cichlid species will harass species of their own or a species that look similar to them.

 

[esoxlucius]

Evolution has made most cichlids extremely territorial. In the wild confrontations may be few and far between because of the vast expanses of water they are in.

On the other hand put them in an enclosed area such as a fish tank and their inherent desire to "own" their area often leads to confrontation.

You could even take it a step further and argue that hobbyists have made some aquarium kept cichlids as volatile as they are through not catering for their proper needs.

 

[duanes]

The more cichlids look like each other , the more aggressive they get because they are natural competitors for the same resources.
I have often found if you combine cichlids that look far different from each other, there is a better chance of success.
But putting two of the same genus together, is usually a bad idea and the problems get more serious.
I never combine two species of Amatitlania, 2 species of Vieja, or 2 species of Parachromis together in the same tank.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

I think all fish are different. Schooling fish like to stick with their own kind and are in different to all others. Some fish, like certain cichlids may not tolerate their own kind but have little objection to a different species. They are all different even within the same family. One thing you probably can rely on in these times is, somebody somewhere is probably offended by fish prejudice.

 

[Ogertron3000]

Fish do seem to know what they are and what they aren’t. When I was a kid I had some neons, in the local pet shop they had a single glo lite tetra in their neon tank. At that stage I had never seen one before so I bought it and he happily schooled with my existing neons at home. A few months later at a real aquarium shop they had a whole tank of glo lites so I got some more. The thing that blew my mind is as soon as I added them to the tank the single original glo lite immediately ditched his neon crew and joined his long last glo light brothers and sisters. I still wonder how he knew he wasn’t a neon really but a glo light as soon as he saw them. I’m assuming they don’t talk to each other about their appearance and there’s no mirrors but somehow he instantly knew his true kind were there and joined straight up with them.