When catfish hunt for cichlids, they intentionally drop their eggs in cichlid territory. The cichlids mistake those eggs as their own, picking them up and brooding them in their mouths. Unfortunately, catfish eggs hatch earlier than cichlid eggs, and these juvenile catfish feed on the cichlid eggs. However, when the mother cichlid releases these catfish, she thinks that they are her children. Strangely enough, the juvenile catfish also think that the cichlid is their mother. A shift from parasitism to commensalism can be observed here. The mother can't brood any more of her young, but the juveniles are not exactly harming her. So, would you say that there is a shift in the symbiotic relationship between the two species (parasitism to commensalism)?

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