Hastings Aquarium fish go veggie (From The Argus)

Hastings Aquarium fish go veggie

1:50pm Friday 8th August 2008 in News By Miles Godfrey

There’s something fishy going on at two of our aquariums.

It seems our watery friends have forgotten their “plaice” in the world.

You might say Mother Nature has thrown the animal kingdom a few red herrings.

For example, a shoal of archer fish at the Blue Reef Aquarium, Hastings, have forgotten how to spit.

For those that don’t know too much about this creature, it usually eats by spitting out a jet of water at flies or other insects and then gobbling them down as the sodden creatures plunge into the water.

Staff there have had to set up a fly mobile above their tank so they can get some target practice.

Worker Daniel Davies said: “We think because they’ve only been fed with dried fish food their natural hunting instinct may have become a little rusty.

“Before we put the fake flies in they were taking the occasional pot shot at overhanging leaves and other objects around their display but you could see their hearts weren’t in it.

“Hopefully it will encourage them to behave as they would in the wild without us having to provide them with an endless supply of live flies.”

At feeding time the plastic flies, bought from a joke shop, are smeared with food and suspended above the tank. Bits of food become dislodged whenever the fish score a direct hit and fall into the water where they are pounced on by the waiting shoal of about 25 of the creatures.

Meanwhile, a batch of pacu fish, which are closely related to the flesheating piranha, have turned up at Brighton’s Sea Life Centre, where staff have discovered they are vegetarian.

The pacu fish were given to the centre by a pet shop which could no longer cope with them, and they would sooner munch off a bit of broccoli than take your arm off.

Alex Gerard, curator at the attraction, said: “They are actually very placid creatures, very peaceful.

They love nothing more than to munch on some vegetables.”

The fish are currently in quarantine and will be out on public show in a new tank, barring any hitches, at the end of next week.