Have you heard about the Convict fish? They are a type of fish that live in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, also known as the Convict cichlid. They look like normal sea creatures, but their behavior is strange. Adults dig a gigantic maze of tunnels underneath the seabed. This must keep them busy because they never leave! Not even to eat dinner! The way that adults live is still unknown, but they think it’s because of the little babies. The little fry don’t stay in the burrow. They emerge all at the same time, making an erupting volcano of fish! Thousands of them pour out of the small hole, each carrying a mouthful of sand. They help their parents out by taking the loose dirt and disposing of it. Streams of tiny particles fly out of the big group. But they aren’t going outside just to help Mom and Dad with their labyrinth, they’re out to hunt. The mass of fingerlings form a school that can sometimes be miles long to go search for plankton. Once they have stuffed themselves, the babies return home, and this is where they come in to help the parents. Many scientists believe that the fish then proceed to regurgitate some of their food into the parents’ mouths. But, who knows? Nobody is for sure on the mystery of the Convict Fish.
Fish are usually easy to figure out. I think it's cool that scientists still don't know how the adults live there lives, and that lots of them believe that the babies regurgitate their food for the parents.
ReplyDeleteCool beans.
Well, this was a good blog. I think it's interesting how so many fish can explode out of one teensy hole. I wonder why the adult convict fish stay in a tiny tunnel all of their life... Do you know?
ReplyDeleteHey, do they live in certain oceans?
ReplyDelete