Bit off more than he can chew

Our 150g tank is heavily stocked with an assortment of Rainbows, Clown Loaches and others. It is always a feeding frenzy when putting food in the tank. It is common for fish to grab whatever is thrown in, regardless of its suitability for them or whether they were the intended recipient.

Here we have an Australian Rainbow that has grabbed a carnivore pellet meant for the bottom feeding fish. It's so big, he can't bite it and it distends his jaw to hold it in his mouth.


We can see the pellet here:


In order to break it down, he would spit it out, then grab it again:


But this wasn't without risk, as another Rainbow was following him around waiting for a chance to steal it:


So better to keep it jammed in his mouth!


A similar show is performed when feeding algae wafers to the Clown Loaches. They are much too big for their mouths, but they will pick them up and take them off somewhere private. Who ever said fish couldn't be entertaining?