RE: NANFA-- Hogsucker husbandry secret revealed?

Nick Zarlinga (njz-in-clevelandmetroparks.com)
Thu, 1 Jul 2004 07:04:38 -0400

Could it be that it serves solely as a cleaning mechanism for the gills?
I'd lean more towards a mechanical scrubbing system for the gills or for
micronutrients than the gizzard theory or ballast since I am sure that a hog
sucker can only injest so much sand.

Nick Zarlinga
Aquarium Biologist
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
216.661.6500 ext 4485

><)> -----Original Message-----
><)> From: owner-nanfa-in-aquaria.net
><)> On Behalf
><)> Of Todd Crail
><)> Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2004 9:15 PM
><)> To: nanfa-in-aquaria.net
><)> Subject: Re: NANFA-- Hogsucker husbandry secret revealed?
><)>
><)>
><)> > We see similar behavior in other riverine
><)> fishes. Sturgeon, especially,
><)> can
><)> > maintain station in fast flows by sitting on the
><)> bottom, arching their
><)> > backs, pushing their nose down, and turning
><)> their fins up and back. We
><)> > originally called this behavior "hunkering" but
><)> an editor suggested that
><)> > that was poor terminology (not translatable into
><)> foreign languages and
><)> > possibly colloquial) so the term was changed to
><)> "substrate appression."
><)>
><)> For some reason or another, the image I get of
><)> "substrate appression" is of
><)> a filthy peasant, lying in the "substrate" before
><)> a King, in a certain
><)> British comedic movie, arguing socioeconimics and
><)> yelling "I'm being
><)> {appressed}! Can't you see he's {appressing} me!" :)
><)>
><)> >Perhaps they are selecting alternate foods -
><)> meiofauna in the sand, etc.
><)>
><)> That's the thing though. They perform _this_
><)> behavior when they're not
><)> being fed, or haven't been fed. They route right
><)> through, sift it, and then
><)> spit the sand out through the gills and the mouth
><)> when they exhibit this
><)> behavior. It's more like a vaccum-cleaner-like
><)> behavior, and it's quite
><)> distinct. They do this a lot on the days where I
><)> fast them. You can always
><)> tell those days, because there's loose sand
><)> _everywhere_ (they disrupt the
><)> biofilms that normally hold it in place)
><)>
><)> But this is totally different. They have been
><)> chewing on a mouthful of meat
><)> for 30 or so seconds, and then dive into the sand,
><)> take a big divot, which
><)> only the larger granules come back out, with a
><)> small amount (in comparison
><)> to the bite) of smaller granules.
><)>
><)> While I think it's _very_ obvious that the sand is
><)> multipurpose... I'm
><)> still voting for "gizzard" in this specific
><)> behavior like I had initially
><)> guessed at, and Bob also suggested. It will
><)> definately be interesting to
><)> get ahold of the work from people who've also
><)> spent a good deal of time
><)> watching this. Other species would be great
><)> too... The spotted sucker
><)> exhibited the same behavior last night. I just
><)> need to get to school so I
><)> can designate time to look all this up for myself.
><)> Or even find some space
><)> to set up a rack of tanks with different
><)> substrates and see what happens ;)
><)>
><)> In any case... Start maturing those live sand beds
><)> (I'd do 6 months minimum
><)> before introduction) and enjoy yourself some suckers!
><)>
><)> Todd
><)> It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
><)> http://www.farmertodd.com
><)> ---------------------------
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