Why are fish always hungry?

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Turin Turambar

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Feb 27, 2003
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They are just never satisfied, yet they can survive several weeks without food (some of the species - never tried of course!).
Yes, the water always carries some tasty organisms, but how come?
 
It is probably because in the wild fish are often without a food source. This makes them eat as much as they can whenever they can. But in the little world that is the tank they really don't need to over indulge as food comes almost everyday.
 
They have no appetite suppression mechanisms. In the wild they eat whatever they can find whenever they can find anything edible. Most grazers/micropredators spend much of their time in the search for food. In captivity that is not required or needed.
 
piggy fish

I feed the rosy barbs steamed lettuce to try to keep them from nibbling the plants so much. The biggest fish eats so much lettuce that it is coming out the rear still looking like bit of lettuce.

I've read that goldfish have a digestive tract a certain length and if more is put in than it can hold and process, it just falls out the other end undigested. Looks like rosy barbs do that, too.
 
anonapersona - LOL! Most fish do that to some degree, which is one of the great hazards of "silent" overfeeding "But the fish eat everything I give them".

For a real hoot, try Loricariids on a wedge of cucumber or zucchini - they get territorial, sitting over the veggie, pausing a bit between eating and evacuating. Gross, but funny in a bizarre way.
 
Already been said, but they aren't necessarily hungry. They eat because they are programmed to eat whenever they can, whether hungry or not, because in Nature they never know when their next meal will be.
 
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Fishy brains

And of course, their little fishie brains have no place for the ideas

"I just ate"

or

"I will eat later"
 
"Must eat to live..."

"Hey, that guy gives me food. I'll swim up to the front"

"Must eat to live..."

"He gave me food. Yum."

(2 minutes later)

"Must eat to live..."

"Hey that guy gives me food. I'll swim up to the front"

"Must eat to live..."

"Must eat to live...." (ad infinitum)
 
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