Fish build sand castle to attract mates

The male fish of the cichlid species living in East Africa often build sand castles with many different shapes, to attract females and drive away those who intend to attack the object.

>>>Video: Fish build sand castle to attract mates

According to the study, the cichlid fish live in Lake Malawi, often built sand castles as their mating place, from one to two times a year, usually during the breeding season.

The research team at the University of Hull and the University of Nottingham, UK, said there are about 200 subspecies of cichlids. Each subspecies will build sand dunes with different shapes and structures, different sizes to attract the females and at the same time chase away the enemy.

Different shapes of sand castles will limit the risk of conflict between fish in the same subspecies.(Photo: The Guardian)

The video recorded this activity of the male fish showed that they often suck sand and release sand into small dunes. The male fish will then regularly guard and protect these sand castles, hoping to attract the attention of the females.

According to the team, the exact shape of sand castles will affect the number of battles that male fish will have to participate in to deal with other males.

After 26.5 hours of observing 99 fish belonging to the same subspecies of cichlids, the team carefully changed the structure of some sand castles. They were surprised to find the number of battles, but the owners of these sand castles were less involved than with other males. This suggests that if males build dunes with differences compared to those of the same subspecies, the enemy will be less likely to attack.

In the process of recording the successful mating behavior as well as the hostile action before and after impacting the dunes, they found that although the level of aggression of the fish were all reduced, changing the shape Sand dunes do not prevent females from being attracted to these males.

Accordingly, if the male fish changes the shape of the sand castle different from the other versions of the same subspecies, they will limit the risk of conflict with each other.

Over time, if the females like the new shape of the sand castle, a new species of cichlid can be formed. The fish of this subspecies will build dunes according to a new structure.