Looking at the golden topminnow, the gold specs are the most prominant
feature. At first glance they look more like targets than camouflage.
Every little turn and flick of a fin causes them to glint like chrome
off a '57 Chevy. What protective strategy is in play? Then as to
answer my question one of those little guys swam into a tangle of
Riccia fluitans, Ludwigia glandulosa, Hygrophila polysperma and it
dissapeared right before my eyes. The yellow of its body looked like
the backlit leaves and stems. The gold flecks looked exactly like the
bubbles of O2 emerging from the leaves and stems. This effect was only
evident looking up at the fish from the bottom of the tank as a
predator would.
I caught the fish in thick mats of Elodea, hornwort, Charra and
Potamogeton in relatively cleear water. I would think that those fish
are virtually invisable to sunfish and other predators from below.
John
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association"
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association
/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
/ nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org
</x-flowed>