Concerned about parasites

[rfeiller]

Good idea but food bill may go up, the pair I had were piggies.

[urbanfarmer]

In 1970 I was given a pair of mossies that had been used by a medical doctor to get his PhD in behavior. He had taught the tilapia to go through mazes, ring bells for their food and a few other little tricks. He had experimented with several different species and found the tilapias to be the most intelligent.
Anything that was hanging into the tank they would "ring" by hitting it with their mouths.
At that time I was breeding several different species commercially on a small scale for pet shops. There wasn't any interest in the locally. g

That sounds like an amazing idea. I wonder if you left it to the fish, if they would maximize the efficiency of the feed by not wasting it. This would be a great research study!

[chrisfoerst]

In other words, my tilapia don't have parasites not are they spawning, they are just plain bored! Great story to keep in mind.

[rfeiller]

ethology the study of animal behavior, is in the dark ages, fish behavior is far behind that. cichlids are busy little guys, defending territories, preparing spawning sites and spawning, nuturing their young, (discus feed their fry off of the body slim) mouth breeding, mouth brooding. their means of communication, expressing emotions each is a study in itself.

[rfeiller]

urbanfarmer most fish will actually limit their food intake to their need, which is probably a lot more then you would normally feed. i would wager that the vast majority of fish are stunted becaused of crowding and nutrition.

[urbanfarmer]

I would agree with the stunting...

It is my understanding that Tilapia will eat beyond what they will actually digest and use in their body. This has to do with the way their intestinal tract is laid out. Newly eaten food can actually bypass the stomach for digestion and gets excreted very quickly thereby wasting the food.

[rfeiller]

That is basically correct that is why force feeding works with fish. When They have all the nutrition they need will excrete the rest. But I also know that they will limit their intake at a point above base need. In the wild all animals are not assured the next meal so they max out as opportunities present themselves. A wolf can eat 40 lbs of food at one feeding, but may not eat again for a week for lack of game.

[urbanfarmer]

Well, a wolf is built for that...

Wolves aside... some fish are built differently than tilapia. I'm not sure if tilapia get ANY significant nutrition when overfed. Some fish DO, but from what I understand tilapia DO NOT. What do you think??

[grimsteph]

The behavior you described is called flashing. It's a normal thing tilapia do, so no need to worry.

[urbanfarmer]

grimsteph, you need to stay active in the forums. It would be a great contribution of knowledge for us as a community.