What Do Fish Eat?
Quick Answer
Fish diets vary by species. There are some carnivorous (meat eating) fish, some herbivorous (plant eating), and many omnivorous (both meat and plant eating) fish. For example, the salmon is known as a predatory carnivorous fish, while the saltwater angelfish is herbivorous and the opaleye is omnivorous. The opaleye lives in the Pacific Ocean and feeds on both seaweed and the tiny creatures that live in and on the seaweed.
Continue Reading
Full Answer
The diet of specific fish within each category of herbivorous, carnivorous or omnivorous depends on what is available in their habitat. For example, herbivorous tropical reef fish will focus on eating plant matter that is available to them in a reef setting, including a variety of different kinds of algae. These fish provide an important ecological service in consuming these algae by preventing an overabundance of this microscopic plant matter, which can have a negative impact on coral growth. Similarly, predatory carnivores can have a negative ecological impact if they are introduced into non-native areas by displacing the top predator, causing a disruption in the food chain. One such example of a disruptive carnivorous fish is the snakehead fish, which has become an ecological nuisance in Maryland and Florida.
Learn more about FishRelated Questions
-
Q:
What Are Some Different Fish Species?
A: Some different fish species include Mola mola, Euxiphipops navarchus, Sphaeramia nematoptera and Amphiprion percula. The mola is the heaviest bony fish in ... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
What Is the Hawaiian Butterfish?
A: Hawaiian butterfish is actually a cooking method for seafood in Hawaii, not a separate species of fish. Butterfish, without the "Hawaiian" name attached, i... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
Do Fish Lay Eggs?
A: Some fish species are oviparous, meaning that the fish fry (babies) are born from eggs that are excreted from the female fish's body prior to hatching. Fis... Full Answer >Filed Under: -
Q:
What Is a Managuense Cichlid?
A: Also known as the jaguar or Aztec cichlid, the managuense cichlid is a species of fish native to Central America. It is used as a food fish and is sold for... Full Answer >Filed Under:
