Habitat and Behavior
In the wild, P. polleni inhabits a number of rivers and associated streams in northern Madagascar, including the environs of the town of Andapa, where most individuals exported for the aquarium trade in recent years were collected. It is an omnivorous fish and occasional opportunistic piscivore, approaching smaller unsuspecting fish by stealth, with their dark coloration giving them an advantage. P. polleni observed hunting in the aquarium environment will sneak up on smaller fish from below during the pre-dawn hours and suck the smaller fish into their mouths using the typical cichlid 'suction effect' caused by quickly opening their mouths. Thus, using stealth and crypsis they are able to prey on fish they would otherwise not be able to catch. In Madagascar, P. polleni is a food fish, and like many cichlid fishes in many regions, reputed to have a good flavor.
Read more about this topic: Paratilapia Polleni
Famous quotes containing the words habitat and/or behavior:
“Nature is the mother and the habitat of man, even if sometimes a stepmother and an unfriendly home.”
—John Dewey (1859–1952)
“Children can’t make their own rules and no child is happy without them. The great need of the young is for authority that protects them against the consequences of their own primitive passions and their lack of experience, that provides with guides for everyday behavior and that builds some solid ground they can stand on for the future.”
—Leontine Young (20th century)