Using a molluscivorous cichlid from Lake Malawi as a biological control agent of schistosomiasis snail hosts

A breeding program for Trematocranus placodon, a Lake Malawi molluscivorous cichlid that can be used as a biological control agent of snails in schostosomiasis control programs, was initiated at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in 2003. Artificial breeding of T. placodon resulted in fish that had poorer molariform teeth development and less efficient in eating snails than their wild counterparts. We hypothesized that the poor molariform teeth development on the pharangeal bones was because of the soft diets used in the hatchery and that snails were quick to sense the presence of the predator or predation on their conspecifics in laboratory settings, which improved their hiding ability. We present preliminary findings of quantifying behavioral responses of snails in the presence of cues from the predator (T. placodon) or killed conspecifics.