Fish Mazes?

[InaneCathode]

I asked one of the lfs's owners today (very smart, old, sage like etc) if any species of fish is smart enough to complete a maze. Not neccesarily the traditional mouse maze, more of a hole-in-a-board, easier type.
He was completely baffled, as was I.

Has this been tried? I'm assuming it's a beneficial thing to have your fish interact with their surroundings, and this might be a pretty effective way of encouraging just that.

Questions, comments, concerns?

 

[ox5477]

They tried it on Mythbusters, but I forgot what the outcome was. Go to the Mythbusters website and they should have something on there. Not saying their data is correct and I think we all had a big topic about this before how they really didn't keep the fish in 'ideal' conditions so this could of affected the outcome. Anyways, check there and I'm sure someone else can comment on the show as I think many people saw it.

 

[ncjharris]

I can recall something, somewhere, in the deepest recesses of my mind, about proving that fish have more than a 3 second memory which entailed them completing mazes and solving puzzles.

There is something else I read somewhere about eels doing something similar.

While they are not fish, the problem solving abilities of octopi is amazing to watch too.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

dunno where i know this from, but some experiments were done on Oscars and they were found to remember things up to 6 months later

 

[dwarfgourami]

dunno where i know this from, but some experiments were done on Oscars and they were found to remember things up to 6 months later

But you can't remember where...because you're not an oscar

 

[cynos]

LMAO


http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U53yGKsyiA

 

[wendywc]

LMAO


http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U53yGKsyiA

Isn't that done with magnets and metal in the goldfish!?

 

[sharkbaitwoohaha]

its not about mazes but at my uni they did an investigation with trout and found that fish do infact have their own personality traits and can learn from others how to be confident/shy

 

[InaneCathode]

LMAO


http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U53yGKsyiA

Isn't that done with magnets and metal in the goldfish!?

Yup, they're not even swimming, just hovering around.

 

[sforzauk]

I remember somewhere they did a test on goldfish where they had a green and red light at either side of a tank, and the fish would only be fed at the green side for about a month. By the end of the test, most fish went over to the green side at feeding time (before it was about 50:50). Not sure if that's memory, intelligence or just routine, but still...

 

[Ethos]

While they are not fish, the problem solving abilities of octopi is amazing to watch too.

I'v heard, next to primates, octopi are one of the smartest animals. Thats why sailors back in the say couldn't ever catch those great sea-serpants! And proabbly why we can't find nessy!

 

[johnnypets]

This is a very interesting topic and the experiments have probably been done somewhere. Maybe someone's kid can do it for the science fair??

I think most fishkeepers have had the experience of fish learning when feeding time is and even perhaps what part of the tank receives the first drops of food. But, this is not necessarily a function of memory. It could simply be a case of classical conditioning (remember pavlov?). What does anyone think?

I have heard reports of bettas learning to ring bells to receive food and cichlids learning target training (a basic exercise done with clicker training - but a flashing light was used with the fish instead of a clicker).

Personally, I believe that some fish have the capacity to learn certain things if communication between their species and ours can be facilitated in some way.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

dunno where i know this from, but some experiments were done on Oscars and they were found to remember things up to 6 months later

But you can't remember where...because you're not an oscar

christ i can barely remember yesterday let alone 6 months ago

 

[goldencomet]

In the mythpusters they had pieces of plastic or something with a hole in it and at feeding time they put the food on the ledge by the hole, and a few weeks later the put about three or four pieces of plastic with holes in them, in the tank. The fish went through the holes in about twenty seconds. It was a pretty rubbish programme and they didn't know how to look after fish because, at the start about three of one mans fish died because of ammonia, he obviously didn't do the fishless cycle.

 

[stang1]

dunno where i know this from, but some experiments were done on Oscars and they were found to remember things up to 6 months later

But you can't remember where...because you're not an oscar

christ i can barely remember yesterday let alone 6 months ago

I know that feeling!