The only behavior I think Cohazard missed is...

[dbcb314]

I was feeding my fish last night and noticed that my Senegals will do the snatch and go here and there, but I then realized that my Knives do the snatch and go all the time.

my X. nigri does this as well... takes food and runs back to his cave

 

[Cohazard]

not necessarily the same thing, but kind of. they are not really opting not to protect small items, it's that they can swallow them right away. it's a function of handling time, not protection.



--solomon

Okay I get it now lol it's hard to think clearly while I'm 'working' and browsing mfk

The status of being safe from predators is really a secondary or correlated status for the food item, because the fish is reacting to the amount of time which the food item will require in order to be consumed, and indirectly to the threat of other predators.

 

[E_americanus]

Okay I get it now lol it's hard to think clearly while I'm 'working' and browsing mfk

don't worry; understandable and i definitely know what you mean!

The status of being safe from predators is really a secondary or correlated status for the food item, because the fish is reacting to the amount of time which the food item will require in order to be consumed, and indirectly to the threat of other predators.

it's not necessarily secondary, but definitely correlated. one may make a case that it's actually primary in the wild...it doesn't matter how big or small the food item is and if you get to consume it if you get consumed in the process.
fishes and many other organisms go through decision rules; if the food is too big to be swallowed immediately or it may be stolen or the fish may be in danger if it is out in the open taking time to manipulate the food item, it will retreat and manipulate the food item somewhere else. in these cases the fish is protecting itself, not the food.

this behavior is somewhat modified in captivity, to where your original thoughts play a larger role. in captivity the fish will likely learn that it is not in as big a threat of predation, but of losing its food...so it will have to hide and manipulate it somewhere else.

so the original behavior stems from anti-predation tactics based on handling time, but can be modified in captivity (at least as a partial explanation) to protecting food items (like you said) from other tankmates.

not a simple explanation huh --
--solomon

 

[Cohazard]

No, not simple lol, but thuroughly enjoyable to know.

Thank you Sol!

 

[channarox]

great info sol!
ive noticed my cichla do the same with bigger food items.
theyll grab and run then try to manipulate it to get it down.

 

[Cohazard]

So what could be said of the opposite behavior? Of acquring a large food item and they stay in the same spot to manipulate the food?

 

[E_americanus]

So what could be said of the opposite behavior? Of acquring a large food item and they stay in the same spot to manipulate the food?

the fish has decided (whether it is right or wrong is somewhat irrelevant) that it is not in danger of being preyed upon nor is it in danger of losing its food. a big fish or a fish that is dominant in the tank would likely express this behavior as it has learned it has nothing to fear from the others...you'll often note that in community predator tanks, if two fish are going after the same food item, often times certain individuals will back down from other individuals even before the object prey item is in possession of either fish.

this often happens in my big gar tank between the big croc gar and any other gar, as well as between the AUL and any other fish. they will see that another individual is going for the food item, if that individual is the dominant fish, then the submissive fish will retreat/back down.

this doesn't always hold true, especially if all the fish are really hungry...but it does happen.

small fish that do this may just not realize they are in danger of losing their food by eating it in the open...and often times they will lose it...eventually learning to "grab and run" as we have observed in our bichirs and other fishes--
--solomon

 

[channarox]

the fish has decided (whether it is right or wrong is somewhat irrelevant) that it is not in danger of being preyed upon nor is it in danger of losing its food. a big fish or a fish that is dominant in the tank would likely express this behavior as it has learned it has nothing to fear from the others...you'll often note that in community predator tanks, if two fish are going after the same food item, often times certain individuals will back down from other individuals even before the object prey item is in possession of either fish.

this often happens in my big gar tank between the big croc gar and any other gar, as well as between the AUL and any other fish. they will see that another individual is going for the food item, if that individual is the dominant fish, then the submissive fish will retreat/back down.

this doesn't always hold true, especially if all the fish are really hungry...but it does happen.

small fish that do this may just not realize they are in danger of losing their food by eating it in the open...and often times they will lose it...eventually learning to "grab and run" as we have observed in our bichirs and other fishes--
--solomon

great stuff and all i have noticed in my tanks as well.
everything from cichla,to aros,to bichirs.