How do fish keep their babies in their mouth?

Question

I can't hold a cracker for that long in my mouth. Once in a while I have to swallow too!
But fish! How they persevere...

EDIT:
Jr, what do you know about animals huh?
So what do you know about God? What do you know about humans?
So why have you so many problems with humans? I'm sorry for whatever experience you might have had, but humans aren't any different from any other animals because WE ARE animals.

Answer 1

LOL. Mouthbrooding Cichlids (Electric Yellows and Powder Blues are some of the more common) have evolved this skill for the specific purpose of protecting their young... If holding that cracker in your mouth was the balance between your survival and your death, I bet you'd do a damn good job of it...

Soop Nazi

EDIT: Jr, that isn't exactly a fair thing to say... Though it is true that humans can do absolutely vile things to their children, many animals often eat their young for their own benefit... Humans sometimes just "dispose" of things in a much more barbaristic way...

Answer 2

Mouthbrooders, are genetically made to carry this duty. They have a deeper developed "buccal" cavity which holds eggs during incubation. Cichlids are often times mouth brooders, but as well, Arowana and some species of catfish also mouth brood. In Cichlids, the most common incubation times I have run across is three weeks. Sometimes they are maternal, meaning the female holds the eggs, sometimes there are fraternal as well, where the male holds the eggs.

This aspect of reproduction is actually not very unusual. Consider mammals such as bears that hibernate over the winter. I agree, that is pretty dynamic in fish, but nature has many ways to amaze us from a humanistic point of view at least. My guess on how they can last that long without eating is two fold, one being fish do not exactly use food in the same manner you and I do. They are cold blooded, so they do not need to metabolize food as a heat source, and two, I'd imagine they store up energy and food prior to reproducing to lower the stress of carrying the eggs for that length of time.

One final note, and most anyone that breeds cichlids will tell you, once a female spits her fry, you don't put her immediatly back in the adult population. This could trigger a male to spawn with her again and either weaken or kill her. I let my females stay in the tank with the fry for about 2-3 weeks before putting them back.

Answer 3

Thats the power of God given instinct. Animals follow their God given instincts; humans sometimes squelch the voice of God and do what we want!

Answer 4

Well, if we had gills it might be easy...

In the words of a famous former intern...they don't swallow.