Bill do you think that is based on the yoy watching the adults (learned/adaptive) or do you think that eating pellets is a heritable trait?
I do think that some fish can "learn" or attempt to eat something due to watching another eat something especially if the first experience is POSITIVE. "monkey see monkey do" type of thing. Some call this conditioning more than learning. ALSO competition and hunger for food are other important factors that I learned more about just this week. A cohort who raises cows says his cows compete with each other for food, evidently greed and I want it all plays a role when cows eat what is offered especially if the amount is limited. GENETICS LOADS THE GUN AND BEHAVIOR PULLS THE TRIGGER. . My experience with training fish to pellets is - If the food has the accustomed texture and is palatable then the fish is much more likely to accept the unfamiliar food.
On the other hand, I and several growers that have been working with a yellow perch strain from Lake Erie that has been domesticated for 44 years. We are convinced the pellet feeding tendency is inheritable as suggested by ewest and jpsdad. Those that have been working with this strain of YP the longest say the new crops are getting gradually easier and easier to train with a larger percentage accepting pellets each year. However I think instinct and competitive nature play a role in how fish behave especially when it comes to eating and feeding.
Walleye to eat pellets. I have always had difficulty getting walleye to eat pellets. I and a couple neighbors a couple years ago bought some pellet raised walleye that were eating only pellets until they were 8"-10" long, except for maybe a few eating smaller cohorts in the fry - fingerling stages. I have yet seen a walleye come to the surface to eat pellets. Either I am not seeing them among the pellet eating YP who they live with OR the walleye have resorted to eating small fish. There is a chance the pellet trained walleye have all died but this is doubtful because one neighbor this summer caught one of those pellet trained walleye.
