This is the moment a greedy tropical fish shows it has worked out how to hoover up all the food by clamping its mouth over the feeding tube at mealtimes.

The fish – appropriately a suckermouth catfish – keeps the small fry in its tank at bay by simply sucking up all the food that comes down the pipe.

Owner Mr Liu – from Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province, China – shared the video of his pet in action on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

He says the catfish – or hypostomus plecostomus – is not aggressive in any other way but will always fight off any other fish who get in its way at mealtimes.

Armour-like scales – or scutes – also help to keep other fish away until it had finished feeding.

Netizen ‘Lee Lee Lee Lee Lee’ commented: “Could you just grab it and feed it with a spoon next time?”

While ‘There is love in the world’ concluded: “No wonder it is the fattest of all the fish.”

And ‘Yao Moji’ said: “Look at the hungry fish, it hasn’t eaten for a few seconds.”