scale eaters…

[Magnum Man 135]

some fish are well known for this, but I had not personally witnessed this, until the other day, I saw my red hook silver dollar, ran into the side of another fish, dislodging a scale, which the hook promptly ate… it it made a habit of that, it would be a problem, but so far other than the normal sparring, I've not seen anything like that again….

what are some fish you’ve had that were really and purposely scale eaters???

 

[Magnum Man 135]

according to Google…
Fish that eat scales practice a specialized feeding behavior known as lepidophagy. In the aquarium hobby, only a small number of species are notorious for this trait, requiring single-species setups or extremely careful tankmate selection

apparently there is an African cichlid that is specialized in this

African Scale-Eating Cichlids (Perissodus species): Endemic to Lake Tanganyika, these cichlids have evolved asymmetrical mouths (pointing either left or right) that allow them to neatly scrape scales off the flanks of other swimming fish. They are rarely kept in standard community aquariums.

 

[Back in the fold 9]

Wow ! Never heard of such a thing . You’d think it would be like eating fingernails .

 

[GaryE 135]

There are scale eaters, eye eaters and fish specialized in knocking fry out of a mouthbrooder's mouth. I wouldn't touch any of them with a barge pole.

There's enough info floating around that you don't get those by accident.

 

[Innesfan 3]

There are scale eaters, eye eaters and fish specialized in knocking fry out of a mouthbrooder's mouth. I wouldn't touch any of them with a barge pole.

Some are even beautiful . The lovely and graceful tetra, Exodon paradoxus, is an avid and efficient scale-eater.

 

[Back in the fold 9]

Some are even beautiful . The lovely and graceful tetra, Exodon paradoxus, is an avid and efficient scale-eater.

View attachment 384526

That is an exquisite little fish but his dietary predilections have cast a pall over him in my opinion . He looks like a mean little dickens .