We found baby tilapia in our pond! Our tilapia are only a couple of inches long- they look like wee babes themselves, but apparently they are old enough to breed.
I had worried that the openness of the pond would mean that any babies would be eaten by the larger fish, but I didn't realize that mama tilapia are fiercely protective of their young. If you look closely in the below photo, you can see one white fish and a bunch of small white "dots" to her right. Those are her babies. She doesn't leave them.
When we look at the pond, the fish usually crowd to where we are, hoping to get fed. Since we were checking out the babes, this mama spent all of her time shooing the other fish away from the little ones. She didn't let the fish get near to them.
Every time we check them out, she is right there, keeping the other fish away.
I was very very impressed with her, and felt like we were watching one of the nature programs we like to watch- getting a glimpse into the secret life of fish.
Some other photos from our walk:
papaya
2 comments:
Sooo sweet and surprising. I always thought the inclusion of fish in a picture book we have about parents getting little ones to sleep was dumb, glad to know there is actually some mothering there.... And to see more of your land and world, that rainbow wow, and yum, papaya...with key lime, ahhhh I miss the food of the tropics!
Thanks for the cozy pics!! So wonderful that you are enjoying the land and space so much! I love our fish too - they take care of each other. The big one always lets a little food go to the little ones, it's very sweet. They hide behind her, too. She is the bold one, always looking for scraps. :D Hope you all had a happy day today!
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