 Of the oviparous teleosts , most ( 79 percent ) do not provide parental care . Male care is far more common than female care . Male territoriality " preadapts " a species to evolve male parental care . One unusual example of female parental care is in mother discuses , which provide nutrients for their developing young in the form of mucus . Some teleost species have their eggs or young attached to or carried in their bodies . For sea catfishes , cardinalfishes , jawfishes and some others , the egg may be incubated or carried in the mouth , a practice known as mouthbrooding . In some African cichlids , the eggs may be fertilised there . In species like the banded acara , young are brooded after they hatch and this may be done by both parents . The timing of the release of young varies between species ; some mouthbrooders release new @-@ hatched young while other may keep then until they are juveniles . In addition to mouthbrooding , some teleost have also developed structures to carry young . Male nurseryfish have a bony hook on their foreheads to carry fertilised eggs ; they remain on the hook until they hatch . For seahorses , the male has a brooding pouch where the female deposits the fertilised eggs and they remain there until they become free @-@ swimming juveniles . Female banjo catfishes have structures on their belly to which the eggs attach . 
