Do some seem more intelligent than others?

[Haiku]

This is kind of a silly question/topic, but I was wondering if anyone had the experience of one or more of their bettas seeming a bit sharper than others. I've noticed the past few months that Orion seems to be the more intelligent of my two. For example, both of them know when my hand goes up near the lid that it means getting fed, but if I drop the pellet a little behind or to the side of Draco rather than right on his nose, he will continue to dance back and forth frantically waiting for food to drop in. With Orion, on the other hand, if I drop in a pellet in an area he doesn't see it right away, he seems to know that it must be somewhere and swims around eagerly looking until he finds it. I see him drop further below the surface in a verticle position and his eyes swivel around studying the water surface for the pellet, and then he zeroes in on it and eats. Draco has to practically run into it before he realizes it's there and if he doesn't see where it drops, he keeps acting as if he hasn't been fed yet.

There are other differences I notice too but I don't know if they have to do with actual intelligence or just a differing personality. I know Orion is much more curious, for example if I drop a marble or new pebble in his tank, he runs over and explores it in fascination for quite some time, whereas Draco mostly just ignores it. When I've taken them out of their tanks for cleaning, and release them back in with a cup, Orion is always the first to discover the way out and swim out.

I just found it interesting to see their differences, it really does seem like Orion has a more inquisitive and intelligent little fishy mind

 

[OrkyBetta]

Yes, I have 3 boys right now, and let me say, when it comes to brightness, well, Merlin is probably a 3 watt. Gorgeous little boy, but looks aren't everything I'm afraid. He spends hours flaring at the melafix on the shelf, till I figured out what he was flaring at and moved it. He is terribly afraid of everything, even his own food. Poor, dim little guy.

Orchid has to be the most intellegent fish I've ever met. He will jump an inch out of the water to grab the food on my fingertip before it even hits the water, and definitely recognizes me over my mother.

I guess, just like people. personalities vary and so does intellegence.

 

[GuppyDude]

yea some are a bit quicker than others, iv yet to see 2 bettas that have the same personality. they are capable of learning and becomeing pretty intelligent, but some just have the bare minimum, just enogh intelligence to survive if you ask people like bettaman or someone who has hundreds of bettas, they will tell you that not a one of them are the same

 

[wrs]

I think my green female Jen Mags is the smartest betta I own. The others, especially Keenyah, are very flakey. .

 

[daudy_dojo]

freckles is kinda stupid but smart... but i have to say this (since she is a female lol jk) cleo is very smart!! she is in my community tank and she LOVES to eat! she knows if its her food! like if i drop regular flake food in there... she doesnt eat it,... if i drop some betta food in there she goes nuts!! now freckles he is just ... o.o <<< that describes him!! o.o! he is focused on EVERYTHING!!! he flares at the wall! he flares at his flower! he flares at my face! he flares at my spoon when im eating cereal! sometimes he even flares at space! he is so easy to catch cause he is so olbivious but cleo... oh man it sucks try to catch her!! she finds a place to hide where she knows i cant reach her unless i take everything out of the tank!

 

[riogal_11]

I don't really know if any of mine are smarter than the others. I think they just all display different personalities.... I don't know though b/c my female seems MUCH smarter than my males too

 

[50000_tears]

my blind guy seems smart im not sure why he jsut does..flame i love him but he is kinda dumb he flares at the weirdist of stuff he flares at the wall for pete sake

 

[Kiarra]

Just another variation.

All species have smart ones, and stupid ones, in relation to each other. Same as people.

 

[pjfish]

I only have one betta, so I can't compare. Sometimes he seems smart, sometimes not. Definitely lots of personality. It's been fun to watch and see what he likes and doesn't like. I've pretty much figured out how to decorate with his favorite types of plants and ornaments. I guess he's smart enough to train me to wait on him hand and foot . . . uh . . . fin and tail.

 

[soritan]

So far, my new betta doesn't seem as bright as my old betta. He's definately faster, but he isn't as aware of his surroundings. He's not interactive. He only perks up when he sees another betta. He's probably still adjusting to his environment, though. Sori (my other betta), wasn't too aware of his surroundings, and was not interactive for the first month or two I had him. Now he's kinda like a desk playmate.

 

[FrisaGirl]

I sometimes wonder if responsiveness might be related to eyesight?
Lancelot, my newest betta, always notices his food quicker and easier than Uther does. He seems to see it better. I dunno. Maybe I'm just refusing to rate Uther as less intelligent

 

[Haiku]

Thank you for sharing these stories about your fishies, I've really enjoyed reading them . Many people would be amazed at how much personality these little guys really have, especially if given a good environement to live in.

 

[Synirr]

Eh-heh heh, I don't know if some are actually smarter than others, but it suuuure seems like it!!
Arbatel seems to be the "brightest" out of my divided tank bettas... he always knows when I've dropped pellets in, even if he hasn't seen them yet, and goes searching for them rather than continuing to beg me for food. He also isn't the slightest bit afraid of my hand and has actually bitten my finger when I was feeding them bloodworms . He wasn't afraid to just come right up to me and take what he wanted.

Mini is another of the bright ones. She's not afraid of me either, and is excellent about finding food. Some of my bettas never look on the bottom and don't even seem to know that food sometimes sinks, but not Mini! She grabs up everything from the surface, then spends her time combing the bottom for any morsel she might have missed. She and my new boy, Ipos, are EXTREMELY aware of their surroundings, which to me is a sign of intelligence

Edit: Wouldn't it be interesting to breed bettas for intelligence rather than colour? I wonder what kind of results you'd get after many years of selective breeding!

 

[Kiarra]

Sounds like a great project for you, Synirr!

And for me, when I have more spawning tanks....

 

[Synirr]

Sounds like a great project for you, Synirr!

And for me, when I have more spawning tanks....

Maybe that can be a side project to the minis... or if Mini's smallness isn't heritable. As it is, I've decided to spawn Mini with Ipos next time instead of Lil because I'm kinda afraid Lil will eat the eggs again and I really want a successful spawn as soon as possible... so hey, the project is already in motion! Mini and Ipos are two of my brightest (but don't tell the others I said so)

Edit: If you're reading this Kara, no worries... I do still want to spawn Lil