List of fish species that protect their young

Some species of fish will actively protect their eggs or young from predators.

Mouthbrooding species

Some species gather up fertilized eggs in their mouth and keep them safe until they hatch, a process called mouthbrooding.

• Cichlid. In addition to being mouthbrooders, some species continue to protect their young after they hatch, calling out to them when there is danger, and letting them swim back into their mouth to hold them safely away. ^[1]
• Apogonidae
• Ariidae males carry a clutch of a few dozen eggs in their mouths, ^[2] for about two months before they hatch.
• Luciocephalus pulcher
• Jawfishes
• Osteoglossid are all mouthbrooders. The parents can hold hundreds of eggs in their mouths. Once hatched, the young may make several trips outside the parent's mouth before deciding to leave permanently. Some species also build nests and protect the young after they hatch.
• Gourami ^[3]

Other

• Suckermouth armored catfish males guard their mate's eggs until they hatch, and sometimes the larvae.
• Siamese fighting fish males build bubble nests and protect the eggs until they hatch. ^[4]

References

1. Keller, Isabel S.; Bayer, Till; Salzburger, Walter; Roth, Olivia (2018). "Effects of parental care on resource allocation into immune defense and buccal microbiota in mouthbrooding cichlid fishes*" . Evolution. 72 (5): 1109–1123. doi:10.1111/evo.13452. ISSN   1558-5646. PMID   29441526. S2CID   3878708.
2. Maciel, Thaís Rodrigues; Vaz-dos-Santos, André Martins; Caramaschi, Erica Pellegrini; Vianna, Marcelo; Maciel, Thaís Rodrigues; Vaz-dos-Santos, André Martins; Caramaschi, Erica Pellegrini; Vianna, Marcelo (2018). "Management proposal based on the timing of oral incubation of eggs and juveniles in the sentinel species Genidens genidens (Siluriformes: Ariidae) in a tropical estuary". Neotropical Ichthyology. 16 (4). doi: 10.1590/1982-0224-20170119 . ISSN   1679-6225.
3. Kramer, D.L.; Liley, N.R. (1971). "The role of spawning behaviour and stimuli from the eggs in the induction of a parental response in the blue gourami, Trichogaster trichopterus (pisces, belontiidae)" . Animal Behaviour. 19 (1): 87–92. doi:10.1016/S0003-3472(71)80139-2.
4. Kang, Chao-Kai; Lee, Tsung-Han (2010). "The Pharyngeal Organ in the Buccal Cavity of the Male Siamese Fighting Fish, Betta splendens, Supplies Mucus for Building Bubble Nests" . Zoological Science. 27 (11): 861–866. doi:10.2108/zsj.27.861. ISSN   0289-0003. PMID   21039125. S2CID   22772624.