Yellowfish habits

[core fly]

yellows.jpgyellows.jpgI have always wondered what really goes on under water with yellows when it comes to lies,behaviour and feeding habits.
I dont have the equipment to film this so i did the next best thing.
I have 2 small yellows in my fishtank at home.I have tried to make it natural and used pebbles and rocks from gariep and some plants.

It is very very interesting to see just how intelligent these fish are and also the habits that form under certain conditions.
Whats really interesting to watch is their feeding behaviour and what food stuffs and sizes they can consume.Also i found they have favoured points of vision to find food and that at certain angles ,depths etc they dont bother to feed,even at close range and yet food in the right place is attacked from across the tank.

I have started thinking of how they really react and detect flies in the river and some of my fishing scenarios start making a lot more sense.
I will give a more detailed "report" as time passes but I am the most interested to see what the winter temps are gonna do to their habits.
To give you an idea what i want to see.
I have a light on a timer that comes on in the morning at around 7 and goes off an hour later.This is the morning feed.Also at 5pm to 10pm the light is on.
When that light comes on,no matter what they are doing they all move to the one corner of the tank and wait there hudled together for their food.During the entire time the light is on they stay in that area mostly but do move around.
When the lights are off they move around a lot but interstingly they also start moving away from the flow area of the tank to quieter water.

[Korrie]

This could develop into a very interesting thread.
Keep us posted.

[WazzyP]

Very interesting thread indeed. But do you not think the size of the tank, nature of the artificial light, type of food, etc influence this too much? I guess they're still fish and still need to feed so it should provide some insights. Let us know how it develops.

[core fly]

I will take some footage as they get bigger (and they growing fast).I know its not rapids but i have a nice current on the one side of the tank that circulates and is nice and slow on the opposite side.I am ginna also move the current to run on the back side and see if they are after the current or more so the fimiliar position.
Post some of your own suggestions here that I can try on them.

[core fly]

Just as matter of interest i have 2 goldfish in with them and they live together very happily.The yellows tend to shove them out the way to get to the food but the goldfish have learnt to feed below the surface and wait for the food the yellows "drown".I intend adding 2 more juveniles to the mix later to see what influence that has too.
For the guys wondering.These fish were "rescued" from a sewage pit of a river outside town,so they are way better off at my house:biggrin:I will also return them to a better home once they are bigger

[core fly]

Warren,there are many outside influences that are way different to what they know in nature but the basic behaviour should remain.One thing that lacks is predators and i can see although they stay deeper down they are not afraid to stay near the surface longer and feed longer sessions there.
Another eye opener was their ability to either see or feel.in the very early mornings when i walk towards the lounge and its pitch dark,when i am still 10m from them and can hardly see them i can hear them swimming frantically around,which means they sensed me at such a distance in a control environment.Thats the most astounding thing.

[Korrie]

WIll keep a keen eye on this thread.

[WazzyP]

Realy interesting stuff John. Thanks for doing this.

How big is the tank you're using?

[smallstreams.co.za]

which means they sensed me at such a distance in a control environment.

I doubt (no scientific basis, just my personal thoughts on this) that they "sense" you. I reckon they do SEE you. Their eyes are much better than we can ever imagine. I mean, they do feed at night, in water hardly crystal clear (Vaal etc). Many people say they are the ultimate predator ;-)

[IMG]http://www.freewebs.com/avp_dark***s/Predator%20-%20Scanning%20in%20Thermal%20Vision.jpg[/IMG]

Edit: Image not loading due to bad word restriction ... sorry.

[core fly]

The tank is just over a metre long and nice and deep.
Mario,their eyes are really good.They pick up the smallest foodstuffs.
Interesting they always take the big foodstuffs first,always