I don't mean to bring this thread back from the dead, but I found it very interesting.
I am an animal science major with a concentration in veterinary medicine at cal poly (I know, I know, who cares big deal... Just background for where I got my info), and last quarter while studying behavior and training we watched a really old video of an experiment with predatory fish.
The gist of it was that if the predatory fish was placed in an aquarium with minnow / feeder fish, it would consume them all.
If that predatory fish was placed in an aquarium with the same type of feeder fish, with glass dividers separating the predator from the prey for a short period of time, then once the glass was removed it would resume feeding as usual. Once it figured out it could eat them again, it rapidly ate the others.
If that predatory fish was placed in another aquarium with the same type of feeder fish, but the glass was separating them for a prolonged period (like 8 hours for example), then once the glass was removed the predator would actually starve to death. It wouldn't even try to eat the feeder fish anymore.
From what I have learned thus far,
I would have to agree with most all of what George and Bruce have been saying.
As long as you fish in moderation (or do most things in life in moderation and not get crazy about it), there really shouldn't be a lot to worry about.
Extremely heavy negative feedback conditioning will affect predatory behavior; however, occasional negative feedback mixed with a majority of positive feedback shouldn't pose a problem.
If you were to catch the same fish 10 times in a row on pellets, then he probably won't be eating pellets anymore, but does that really happen that often? (I really don't know, I'm a fishing noob).
I don't know enough about fish behavior or fish genetics to get all technical on anyone. I'm more of a food animal / companion animal technician... I'm just assuming that a lot of the same principles apply.
Around 95%+ (My Guestimation!) of the principles of reproductive physiology overlap in respect to fish, and mammals, so the assumption isn't without precedent. It just probably isn't very accurate.
The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know. I'm coming to find out that things are rarely EVER black and white. They are almost ALWAYS shades of grey.
