Fish Memory....

Ludwig Venter

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My Discus... (6 of 'em) are now about 8 months old and I've never fed them earthworm. About 2 weeks ago, a friend gave me his 2 discus as they were wasting and according to him, hard work just to keep going. (they're much older than mine, but a lot smaller)

This afternoon, I got a coupla earthworms and fed small pieces to the Discus.... Mine absolutely ignored it, but his fish (which is now mine) went crazy and devoured the lot. I phoned him and he said that earthworm was basically their staple diet whilst with him... Chopped earthworm.

They've been with me for two weeks and immediately "recognised" (remembered) That this is something to eat....

So much for the "myth" that fish has a memory span of 3 seconds... (you must've heard it mentioned before)??
 
WHY FISH ARE SMARTER THAN YOU THINK

The well-known stereotype that fish are pea-brains with memories like sieves has been challenged by scientists, who claim that fish are far more intelligent than previously thought.

A newly published set of articles by researchers at the Universities of St Andrews, Edinburgh and Leeds challenges the common perception that fish are "drudging and dim- witted pea brains, driven largely by instinct". On the contrary, they are cultured, clever and actually have quite good long-term memories.

And though they might have small brains, they can be just as intelligent as other vertebarates.

The research, co-edited by Drs Kevin Laland (St Andrews), Culum Brown (Edinburgh) and Jens Krause (Leeds) is published in the September edition of Fish and Fisheries journal.

In the paper, ‘Learning in fishes: from three-second memory to culture’, Dr Laland said:

"Learning plays a pivotal role in the behavioural development of all vertebrates, and fish are no exception. Although it may seem extraordinary to those comfortably used to pre-judging animal intelligence on the basis of brain volume, in some cognitive domains, fish can even be favourably compared to non-human primates.

"Two themes emerge from this review. The first is that the learning abilities of fishes are comparable to land vertebrates, and whether one considers the neural circuitry, psychological processes or behavioural strategies, fish learning appears to rely on processes strikingly similar to that of other vertebrates. The second is that fish provide a flexible and pragmatic biological model system for studying learning and information transmission processes, and in many respects, can be regarded as ideal subjects for research into learning and memory."

The collection of articles dismisses the notion that fish are hopelessly inflexible creatures hampered by their infamous 'three- second memory'. Such changing perceptions, the authors maintain, coincide with a 'sea change' in scientific understanding of fishes' psychological and cognitive abilities.

Also apparent is the considerable variability in fish behaviour, both across the 27,000 known species and among the geographical variants of the same species.

“These days, fish are regarded as steeped in social intelligence, pursuing Machiavellian strategies of 'manipulation, punishment and reconciliation'; exhibiting stable 'cultural' traditions; and co-operating with each other to inspect predators and catch food. Fish not only recognise individual shoal mates, but also monitor the social prestige of other fish and track the relationships of other individuals. They also use tools, build complex nests and can even exhibit impressive long-term memories,” said Dr Laland.

Edit: Just adding credit to the author of the above post pointed out to me by Andywg.: http://calvin.st-andrews.ac.uk/external_re...m?reference=534
 
from the studies I have seen conducted, 'and mythbusters also!!', it is proven that fish have memories much great than a mere few seconds, so much so, they can be taught something, then recall it days later
 
There's plenty of evidence that the 3 second memory thing is unfounded. Not the least of which are the numerous videos of people who have trained goldfish to run obstacle courses. There are also fish that mate and stay with that mate for long periods of time.

Hell, my platys taught my neons to beg for food when I come to the aquarium. When I walk by the table with all the supplies they'll all come up to the glass when the neons used to ignore me.
 
yea, mythbusters, right invader?




lol anyway, i recently read an article in national geopraphic about some of the smartest animals on earth. animals like chimps, the smartest dog in the world, memory of elephants, and dolphins...amoungst them was the african cichlid for its ability to fit into a society...yata yata.

i deff think some fish are smarter than others but fish like oscars are very smart. mine use to ring a bell around feeding time. i had to rid my aquarium of this because it was also a 3am alarm clock.
 
There's plenty of evidence that the 3 second memory thing is unfounded. Not the least of which are the numerous videos of people who have trained goldfish to run obstacle courses. There are also fish that mate and stay with that mate for long periods of time.

Hell, my platys taught my neons to beg for food when I come to the aquarium. When I walk by the table with all the supplies they'll all come up to the glass when the neons used to ignore me.

Tell me about it, how would Nemo, from 'Finding Nemo' remember his lines ?
 
from the studies I have seen conducted, 'and mythbusters also!!', it is proven that fish have memories much great than a mere few seconds, so much so, they can be taught something, then recall it days later

that was a good episode apart from they bought the fish and the tank at the same tiem then rang up and were told it was wrong!
 
When i tap the glass my fish come to the same point to feed, they could not remember this if they had a 3 second memory
 
Maybe they have a not so good short term memory but their long term is by far longer than 3 seconds. Pretty obvious because thats why they come up to the top when you open the lid because they know that usually means feeding time
 
Saw a piece on Good Morning America where a guy had trained his fish to do tricks. Some kind of goldfish.

Seems to me that the longer-lived the creature, the smarter it is. Elephants live a very long time and they are one of the smartest animals. So maybe that holds true for fish?? The longer their lifespan the more capacity they have to learn/remember??

I have to disagree with the three-second thing irregardless; if a fish could only remember the past 3 seconds, period, they couldn't recognize food, hold a territory, defend eggs/babies, and all the other things that they naturally do.
 

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