I have put some of our common creek fish in aquariums to practice on their care (before I try on more important fish).

I have a green sunfish in a tank with some large gambusia. I have a recirculating pump in the tank so it is a little "loud" with some water movement - like their original home in the creek.

I have been feeding the sunfish crumbled dog food (since that is what drew him into the minnow trap) and small gambusia from another tank.

Yesterday, I picked up some meal worms and dropped one in the tank. The sunfish instantaneously shot out of the corner and snapped up the meal worm.

I have dropped several edible things into the tank for the sunfish. His reaction to the meal worm was at least 10x more aggressive than his reaction to other forage.

I assume it was by far his favorite food item that I have placed into the tank.

How did the sunfish immediately know that tasty forage was floating at the surface?

Did the mealworm transmit chemicals to the sunfish's taste/smell receptors? (It was a 20 gallon tank and the sunfish reaction appeared to occur more rapidly than the rate at which a chemical would have diffused.)

Did the sunfish detect some particular movements of the meal worm with his lateral line? (The sunfish was at the bottom of the tank under the pump return flow, the meal worm was floating at the surface.)

Not important questions, I am just trying to learn more about fish behavior if anyone wants to add some general knowledge to the thread.

Thanks,
FishinRod

Remember Rod predators make their living hunting for grub. They have good sight also. When you approach the tank the fish know it’s dinner time

The fish have only been in the tanks about 10 days.

I am trying to feed train them by turning on the light and then immediately feeding. Based on the reactions of multiple species, I don't think I have feed trained them yet. It usually takes everyone a little while to find their food.

However, you may be correct that the sunfish immediately identified his tasty meal merely by sight identification. That would certainly match what I observed.

I think sight is very important for any centrarchid. Not exclusively but important all the same. Once close the other senses play a role in confirming the attraction was warranted. Once a pattern develops, the fish is conditioned to respond.

As for the meal worm .... it is vastly more nutritious than dog food. Much higher concentrations of digestible protein. With the exception of feed developed for fry ... it's better than fish feed too.

I knew that, but I am pretty sure that sunfish had never before seen a meal worm.

However, it is his JOB to figure out what is most beneficial to his health. I was just very impressed at how quickly he identified an exceptionally nutritious meal!

On a sidenote here, there is a reason Optimal make BG and Jr in varying lengths..one of those reasons is to somewhat mimic a larval worm of sorts. a round pellet is a learned trait.

Fish don’t have a big brain but it’s big enough to find a date,stay alive, and find food…

Sounds like me Pat...

Interestingly, brain size matters less than you'd think. Lemurs with brains 1/200th the size of chimps' have a similar tested IQ.

And some intelligence seems pre-programmed, rather than the result of brain activity. Bacteria have no brains whatsoever, but will do smart things like share genes that protect against antibiotics.

They self-engineer mutations, too, contrary to neo-Darwinian random variation doctrine. Heck, they will even gather a quorum and chemically "vote" on what to do next in puzzling situations!

Dang that is way over my pay grade….. lol

I used to think that my field, finance, was complex. It's child's play compared with biology!