How does a Tetra know it is a Tetra.

[gwharton]

So a Tetra will school with a Tetra, but not with a guppy. Question, how does it know it is the same as those other tetras. They surely don't know what they look like.

Any thoughts.

Thanks

Graha

 

[Back in the fold]

They have a secret fin shake.

 

[itiwhetu]

They tell each other by their patterns and shape. No two species look the same.

 

[gwharton]

Yeah, but when they look at another fish and think, oh, he looks like me. How does he know what himself looks like. For all he knows he could look like jaws and nothing like the other tetra. I mean he's never had a mirror, and even if he did, would he know that what he sees in the mirror is him. Or is this some instinctual knowing of what they look like.

Edit: I must add, I've had a bottle of wine.

 

[StripySnailGirl04]

They use their magical eyes, summon the Ultraviolet retina and look upon each others glowing markings.
They sense the very unique tetra essence being carried along the water, rippling along the current.
They buy Dr. Snail's Tetra Dust to use in a spell so mysterious to identify an eager animal, a species of their own...

Or they just know

 

[Colin_T]

They hang out with fish that look the same as those they grew up with.
eg: a baby neon tetra grows up with a bunch of other neon tetras. It thinks it is a neon tetra and will associate with them.
It does not think it's a guppy because it did not grow up with them.

It's the same right across the animal kingdom with baby animals, birds and fish associating with the species they grew up with. It's called imprinting and can happen when baby birds see their parents for the first time after they hatch from the egg. Swap the adult bird for a human, and the baby bird sees a human as its mother and will instinctively bond with and follow the human around.

It's also an instinct all animals have when they reach puberty (sexual maturity). They are naturally attracted to their own kind.

 

[gwharton]

If I was unable to look at myself and never seen a reflection of myself, would I feel at home in a field of cows or would I instinctively know that ain't right? I'm guessing I would just know that I don't feel like a cow.

 

[gwharton]

They hang out with fish that look the same as those they grew up with.
eg: a baby neon tetra grows up with a bunch of other neon tetras. It thinks it is a neon tetra and will associate with them.
It does not think it's a guppy because it did not grow up with them.

It's the same right across the animal kingdom with baby animals, birds and fish associating with the species they grew up with. It's called imprinting and can happen when baby birds see their parents for the first time after they hatch from the egg. Swap the adult bird for a human, and the baby bird sees a human as its mother and will instinctively bond with and follow the human around.

It's also an instinct all animals have when they reach puberty (sexual maturity). They are naturally attracted to their own kind.

Ahhhh, that's making more sense. I wonder if my baby swords growing up in my community tank with a lot of gupps and mollies will be species confused.

Oh, This wine seems to have got the better of me.

 

[Byron]

The answer to your initial question is: evolution.

Each and every species of life on this plant has a genetic code or blueprint. This "tells" the individual what it needs to know about life. Take a simple but easily understood analogy; how does a new-born human baby know how to obtain milk? Its mother certainly did not sit down and explain the human body and what to do for food. The baby "knows" because it is in the DNA blueprint for the species. Presented with the physical aspects, it know exactly what to do to get the milk.

This is why studying the habitat needs of each species of fish is so crucial to their wellbeing. Each species of tetra "expects" to be in a large group of its own species; it does not need to learn this, it is already imprinted in the DNA. We have some unquestionable evidence of how important all this is; shoaling fish denied a group of more than roughly ten will show serious stress, and they even have a latency to feed. Obviously this is critical to the fish if something is hampering its natural craving for food.

The fish does not need to see itself, it just knows. Now, this aspect I cannot explain, but I'm sure a genetic scientist could.

 

[Rocky998]

One word: Instinct