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ive read that some fish uses their sense of smell to detect fud..like the cories. so..ive decided to test it tonite...by dropping a pellet..the pandas got to it 1st but not for long....the gouramis came next and the platies as well as the cherry barbs...and they just overtook. my poor pandas... were set aside by these bigger fishes...oh well!!!

Some fish can sense their food by using electrical impulses in the water; they can also sense other waterborne objects in this way. Sharks, elephantnoses, and black ghost knifes are all example of these fish.

However, most fish just use their sense of smell. Cories happen to have very good "sniffers", and are often the first fish to a meal. Blind cave tetras also have a highly-developed sense of smell, since they don't have eyes to see their way around.

Also, the lateral line organ is helpful in finding food. Fish can use it to sense distrbances in the water, and food is a pretty big disturbance when you're a hungry fish.

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My Corydoras sense the food, as they rush, where i've drop the pellets.


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As for their senses, all fish use these to find their foods. Just some use different senses. Preditory fish, use their sight to find food, while others use a sense of smell. Some use the electrical impulses as mentioned above, while others us later line and later line types of senses to find food sources.

Many, like catfish, will use multiple senses to find foods. Catfish have good "sniffers" or sense of smell. This however, only leads them to the area of the food. They then have to find it with their wiskers, to eat it. This is one of the problems with corys, if you have sharp like substrate. If their wiskers are worn down, they will swim near the food, but not find it. And eventually they perish, as they cannot find the food. Catfish that have longer whiskers, are very neat or funny to watch. As they swim to the location of the food, they will start "swatting" the substrate with their whiskers until they touch the food. But, some of the more preditory catfish, don't use a sense of smell, but use their later lines to detect food is near. And they will start "sweeping" the water with their whiskers, until they come in contact with the prey, at which time they will dart towards it, and eat it.

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There is always a bigger fish...

tankie

Yes fish use their sense of smell to locate food sharks can follow a food trail for several miles.
I personally think in a tank it is more likly a water disturbance at first as it will take several minutes for the pellet to send out a food trail. Fish also use their sense of picking up virbrations in the water. Some fish have very poor eyesight and therefore must rely on their other senses.

Keith

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Some fish have very poor eyesight and therefore must rely on their other senses

Some senses, may appear to be poor, while they are not. An example would be eye sight. Some fish, their eye sight, does not have nerve pathways to the "food" center of the brain. So they never "see" the food with their eyes. Many fish have their eyes for stricktly defense from other creatures. Have you ever seen a fish, that does not ever notice that there is food in the tank for several minutes, even though other fish are eating? And yet, they see you coming from clear across the room and run and hide. Most plecos are perfect examples of this. Food will drop right by them, and they never move quickly to it. Yet, when they do happen across it, they go nuts over it.

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There is always a bigger fish...