How Smart Are Fish?

[BettaBarbara]

While that is true TTA... the notion of conditioning implies their ability to remember something longer than the standard 2 seconds that is often bantered about as the memory span of a goldfish.  It goes beyond mere 'instinct'.  They have 'learned' a behavior associated with something else.

I agree with that.....

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

he fairly had to rattle that tub on the tank, wi my goldies all i have to do is lift the lid and open the left hand slider and they are swarming right under where i put the food in, i've got to try not to dump it on their heads.

 

[Chad]

Few marine fish are top feeders so that means I have to place the food under the surface. As soon as my hand goes in they are eating right out of it. They know the time of day they get fed and begin to gather and when they see me coming they get excited. When the pumps go off they go right to where I feed and wait.

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

i'm usually not too bad at minding the first feed of the day but sometimes at night i can not realise the time and the goldies will start swimming almost like a shoal at the front right hand of the tank (which is the closest part of the tank to where i sit) which minds me to feed them.
 
so who's got who trained there lol

 

[Chad]

so who's got who trained there lol

Puffer fish are beggars. They most certainly train their masters. It's hard not to overfeed a puffer when they come over and beg for a treat.

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

puffers are wee cuties, it would be hard to resist.
 
the strange thing is the goldies will only "ask" the once if i'm late with their 2nd feed. if i've gave them it they don't do the shoaling behavior that night and even if i stay up really late they wont do it again after they've had their second feed.

 

[Chad]

They must not be as hungry at night.

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

  my goldies not hungry! these fish live for food if i fed them a 3rd time they would scoff the lot. i have on occasion fed them a third time if it's been a long day.
 
no disrespect meant by the laughing man but if you knew my goldies you would laugh too

 

[Chad]

Well...if you read my post I didn't say they weren't hungry.

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

ahh, ok, so you meant they just weren't hungry enough to try asking for more?
 
i wondered if it was poss conditioning to 2 feeds a day?

 

[Chad]

ahh, ok, so you meant they just weren't hungry enough to try asking for more?

Yes, that's what I was saying. Just guessing as to why they would exhibit the behavior at the first feeding and not the second.

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

it's only if i'm late with/forgot their 2nd feed that they exhibit the behavior of shoaling at the front right of the tank.
they don't do it for the morning feed because i always feed them straight away when i come into the room and they don't do it if i have remembered to feed them on time with their 2nd feed.
it might just be that they have got hungry again because they are usually fed again or poss they are somehow aware (other than a rumbling stomach) that they would normally be fed again.
with both feeds as soon as i lift the hood and open the left slider they congregate right where i put the food in.

 

[Chad]

Clearly there is some behavior there that indicates they are aware.

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

i don't specifically train my goldies, i just appreciate them for what they are but it is strange when i notice certain patterns in their behavior that raise an eyebrow

 

[TwoTankAmin]

We know fish have some degree of memory. How else can plecos males find their caves, or altum angels find the roots in which they shelter over night?
 
Classical conditioning deal with the association of something unrelated becoming associate with something else. The dog was made to salivate by hearing a bell. He was conditioned to think that the sound of a bell means food is coming. Amano tapping on the tank is the bell for the fish.