If I knew more about the reproductive and rearing habits of sunfish, maybe it ties into this:
There are several species of cichlids (and lots of other species) where parents will guard a new brood. Some species will take parenting to a higher level and also provide a first food: The slime coat produced by Discus obviously comes to mind first.
Parent-reared angelfish will display much the same behavior in our small aquariums. At pea size they will begin to peck at the parents' slime coat. Unfortunately, angelfish just aren't built to do that. In nature they would be scattered by that point. But in an aquarium, they will continue and the parents will tolerate it if they are determined parent-raisers.....to the point where the parents look tattered and shredded if they aren't separated.
Another pure guess here is that two flat-bodied fish from totally different parts of the world are simply exhibiting similar behavioral characteristics?
But I have to ask: is this a sunfish as in the ones native to most US ponds and lakes?
There are several species of cichlids (and lots of other species) where parents will guard a new brood. Some species will take parenting to a higher level and also provide a first food: The slime coat produced by Discus obviously comes to mind first.
Parent-reared angelfish will display much the same behavior in our small aquariums. At pea size they will begin to peck at the parents' slime coat. Unfortunately, angelfish just aren't built to do that. In nature they would be scattered by that point. But in an aquarium, they will continue and the parents will tolerate it if they are determined parent-raisers.....to the point where the parents look tattered and shredded if they aren't separated.
Another pure guess here is that two flat-bodied fish from totally different parts of the world are simply exhibiting similar behavioral characteristics?
But I have to ask: is this a sunfish as in the ones native to most US ponds and lakes?
