Fish Memory

[Eelzor]

I saw this report on the news a few mintues ago about fishes memory span being more than 3-5 seconds. They said the memory span can be years even. This was found out in UK. I think is is actually pretty good news. They had tested things like, sounds that mean the food is in, lights mean the food is in etc. They also had things like the fish remembering specific people even! What insights do the rest of you have on this?

 

[Kossy]

Well that's good news...now I can fight my mum on the issue "Why fishes are stupid and worthless" lol

 

[aquamanis]

Um, I was going to say something but I,ve forgoten.

 

[Jo]

I'm sure that fishes remember things, whenever I get in from work and go to the tank to feed them as soon as I go close they all crowd around the place that I am standing, as if waiting for food....may just be my imagination, but I'm sure that I can see some of them mouthin "MUM" at me through the glass as they swim round...."mum...mum...mum...mum..."

 

[Lateral Line]

Read this. Interesting. I've always known that 3 second memory was bunkum. The fish swarm to the top everytime the lid is opened - why? If they were simple machines - they'd be running for cover.

 

[Guppy muzza]

thats good to know!. i've always known that fishes 3-5 second span was so not true.

 

[Eelzor]

Read this. Interesting. I've always known that 3 second memory was bunkum. The fish swarm to the top everytime the lid is opened - why? If they were simple machines - they'd be running for cover.

yes, lateral line, thats good info. Just what I was talking about. I always knew fish had a longer memory span then 3 secs. I always saw at the store they always knew they where given food with a specific hand sign.

 

[BlackWolf0503]

My friends Chiclids remeber him(or at least his shape) . Anytime someone else trys to feed them or walks into the room to watch them eat they hide behind the rocks.

 

[Mogo]

Actually, I reading a book right now on fish behaviour and it has detailed information on different experiments that scientists have used to determine all aspects of fish behaviour. Anyone interested in it, I could post the book name and author. It goes into what's instinctual, what's biological, and what is learned.

As for fish memory here's a little instance that happened just recently. One of my female nicaraguenses fell sick over a month ago. She's in a species tank with one male and two other females. Each female has her own pit and cave. After falling sick she was moved into a hospital tank and remained there for over a month. For about three weeks, one of the other females and the male would go in and clean out her cave for her, but never spent any amount of time in or around the cave. In the fourth week, this same female decided she would claim this cave and abandon her own. Perhaps this cave is somehow better than her own, and she figured the other female was not coming back. In the fifth week, the formerly sick female was re-introduced, and immediately went to her cave, to discover the other one had claimed it. They fought throughout the night, until the once sick female had reclaimed her cave, and the other female went back to the abandoned cave. Another thing is that the re-introduced female would constantly go up to the male, swim with him and start doing the mating dance for him. Surely if she didn't recognize or remember him, she would probably see him as a threat (he's about 10 inches and twice the size of her) and would try to avoid him.

 

[gadazobe]

And, on the same subject, found this today in The Sun (ok - so I'm not a highbrow like the rest of you - I admit it, I read The Sun ) ) fish memory

 

[aquamanis]

I just saw a report on the news last night. In england a scientist has just finished doing experiments with fish, I think he used carp or something simular. He had trained them to go into a box where there would be food after he had blown a siren. He left them for 6 months and then tried the experiment again and straight away the fish remembered to go into the box, after 6 months!

 

[Eelzor]

yes, aquamanis, thats exactly what I saw too! They had lots are carp for testing and the siren thing too. yes, good at least someones seen exactly what I saw too.

 

[cassandra]

everytime my fish see me they come to the side od the tank and greet me with a warm welcome.. i think they love me

 

[smb]

I usually wear my work shirt when I'm just around the house. It's a dark blue T-Shirt. My flowerhorn always comes to the front and top of the tank when he sees me. I always walk up and put my hand in the tank and splash him and he bites the water and splashes me back with his tail. The other day I was walking toward the tank and he came up to the top like always but when I got to a couple feet he took off so fast I could barely see him and hid in his cave staring out at me. I didn't realize what was wrong and started to panic and threw my green coat off. He has never hid from me once since I've had him, and then he suddenly came right up to me like nothing happened.

It suddenly hit me that he is used to a blue shirt and I walked out of the room and put my coat on and came back...same thing... he went and hid from me. I left and took the coat off and came back and he was up top again. (yea, I have no life if you're wondering and plenty of time to play games with my fish)

Fish definately have a memory and are a lot smarter than we give them credit for, imo.

 

[Eelzor]

(yea, I have no life if you're wondering and plenty of time to play games with my fish)

lol, smb. everyone looks like they have no life when they play with thier fish. The first time I had tropical fish I just sat there for an hour looking at them.