Stupid Fish!

[Bugdozer]

My amano shrimp are eating some algae wafer, and when they do this little particles float off the wafer and my tetras eat them. Now the fish are following the shrimps around waiting for them to emit particles of food! Poor shrimpos can't get any peace.

 

[ZoddyZod]

I think this should be retitled "clever fish"

 

[willowstwin]

+1 with Zod... This is clever. "Can't eat big green thing but it sure looks tasty... weird little things with strange fins come and they seem to be able to... they're messy little things... ooh floaty bit, nom nom nom... waiiiiit a minute"

 

[Bugdozer]

No, because they are doing it when the shrimp aren't eating, and ignoring the bits of algae wafer they could be snacking on just lying on the gravel!

 

[ZoddyZod]

not many tetra will eat from the substrate. It seems to be a no go zone where feeding is concerned.

I'm sure there is a wondeful scientific reason for that, but I have no idea what it is. It could be that they are attracted to the food only when it is moving in the water column. Once it is static on the floor it stops looking like food.......but that's just a guess.

 

[hensonc4098]

not many tetra will eat from the substrate. It seems to be a no go zone where feeding is concerned.

I'm sure there is a wondeful scientific reason for that, but I have no idea what it is. It could be that they are attracted to the food only when it is moving in the water column. Once it is static on the floor it stops looking like food.......but that's just a guess.

I always thought predation from things like catfish from being in the wild? My silver dollars hate coming to the surface for food - if they have to do it then they grab the food and then dive down to the bottom again, but having seen shoals of fish stuck in shallow water picked off by birds, I can understand their logic...

 

[Bugdozer]

Finn, the most dominant tetra, has discovered that he can get the wafer off the ground and it's now been consumed by him. The shrimp have gone off to skulk under the cabomba and the fish have returned to their usual behaviour.
Next time I'm going to place the wafer in places the shrimps can reach but the fish can't!

 

[tomtomtom1230]

not many tetra will eat from the substrate. It seems to be a no go zone where feeding is concerned.

Try and tell that to my neons They won't listen, I've tried...

 

[mattybee]

ooh floaty bit, nom nom nom... waiiiiit a minute

 

[Bugdozer]

Update: the shrimps are now afraid to come out because the fish follow them around and prod them. Grrr. They were so happy before.

 

[willowstwin]

The fish are probably prodding them because they're all:

"oi! Strange walky thingys! Make the yummy floatys!"

 

[ZoddyZod]

not many tetra will eat from the substrate. It seems to be a no go zone where feeding is concerned.

Try and tell that to my neons They won't listen, I've tried...

I sat down and watched my tank after feeding last night.....low and behold my neons were pecking at the sand. Trust my fish to make me look foolish.