#cichlidae

[herpsandbirds]

These fish can tell when you’re staring

Fish may possess the ability to perceive where another being’s attention is focused. And they don’t like when it’s focused on them or on their children

The emperor cichlid (Boulengerochromis microlepis) is endemic to Lake Tanganyika, Zambia and ranks among the largest members of the family Cichlidae, reaching up to 80 cm in total length. Breeding pairs are stable, with both males and females jointly defending egg broods against potential predators. In a new study, researchers examined whether the gaze of human divers directed towards the offspring guarded by parental emperor cichlids altered aggressive behaviour towards divers. Emperor cichlids attacked divers significantly more frequently when divers looked directly at the offspring than when they averted their gaze or turned their fins towards the offspring. These findings suggest that fish may possess a rudimentary form of 'attention attribution', the ability to recognise where another individual's focus lies which should be considered in ecotourism and conservation contexts.

Read the news article in Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/.../these-fish-know.../

Read the research article in Royal Society Open Science: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251919

photograph by Ryo Hidaka

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Though most fish aren't noted for their parental abilities, discus fish should certainly be in the running for parent of the year. Both males and females secrete an orange mucus from their skin which is rich in proteins, nutrients, and antibodies- not unlike the milk secreted by mammals! Young discus fish feed off this mucus for about three weeks after hatching, at which time they're weaned and expected to find their own food.

(Image: A blue discus fish (Symphysodon aequifasciatus) by Patrick Farrelly)

[every-day-creechur]

Blue Victoria Mouthbrooder Haplochromis nubilus

A cichlid fish from Lake Victoria in Africa.

image by Dale Kindler

[saritawolf]

Starry-night Cichlid (male above, female below) (Paratilapia polleni) - (c) SaritaWolf - please do not repost

[fuckyeahaquaria]

Convict Cichlid | Amatitlania nigrofasciata

[webfinds]

[herpsandbirds]

Pelvicachromis kribensis, "Muyaka variant", family Cichilidae, order Cichliformes, Cameroon.

This variant was only found in a few isolated streams, and has not been seen there for some time. It's possible that this variant is now extinct in the wild. (The species, as a whole, seems to be fine.)

photographs by Michel Keijman

[herpsandbirds]

Freshwater Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare), family Cichlidae, order Cichliformes, found in the Amazon Basin and nearby river basins in parts of northern South America

Commonly kept in home aquaria. (The most commonly kept species of this genus).

photograph by Erkut Akyildiz