cichlid memory
- Thread starter smokeythebair
- Start date
Yes, I had an Amphilophus Zaliosus that was beating up a Vieja. I removed the Zaliosus for 4 weeks, when I put him back the Vieja was scared as hell, didn't even defend his territory, and the Zaliosus starting beating him up again. So I definitely think those 2 remembered each other.
And I had more situations like this one.
And I had more situations like this one.
Memory? I think so.
However what you are describing is not the memory of one fish of another fish, but rather aggression realized, no mater the individual fishes involved, i.e. one fish is simply more aggressive than the other.
However what you are describing is not the memory of one fish of another fish, but rather aggression realized, no mater the individual fishes involved, i.e. one fish is simply more aggressive than the other.
I had a green severum and an oscar that I had adopted together from the local pet-co. I separated the fish and the severum started showing ich like symptoms(white bumps) where none of the other fish showed symptoms. I treated the tank and the severum only got worse(????)... I finally put the severum back in with the oscar and within a day the sev's symptoms went away completely 
.. Both tanks were the same PH and parameters were both the same. I think the sev missed his oscar friend.
I've also noticed that when I move the decor around in my tanks(caves,rocks,pvc, etc..) the same fish reclaim their houses no matter where I put them in the tank.
These are just a couple of experiences that suggests to me that fish have some sort of memory retention.
----Chris
.. Both tanks were the same PH and parameters were both the same. I think the sev missed his oscar friend.I've also noticed that when I move the decor around in my tanks(caves,rocks,pvc, etc..) the same fish reclaim their houses no matter where I put them in the tank.
These are just a couple of experiences that suggests to me that fish have some sort of memory retention.
----Chris
I don't think it is, because the first time these 2 fish saw each other there was a fight for dominance that the Zaliosus won after a couple of days. Now if they forgot about each other shouldn't there be another new fight for dominance, instead of the Vieja just being scared as hell the moment he saw the Zaliosus? Especially since the Vieja had a territory in that tank and I was adding the Zaliosus.Redearsunfish;4637377; said:
Hard to know if it's actual conscious memory or just sets of conditioned and learned behaviors. It is clear that behaviors tend to persist for several weeks. But I'd think after a month of failure to reinforce behaviors with any sort of reward or punisher, the behaviors you had previously observed would go extinct. You can probably expect the original raw nature of each fish to play out in a similar way to the first time they were introduced assuming no other variables like temperature, length of daylight, quality of food, decoration placement, etc. have been introduced. But good luck removing all variables. For all you can control, a minor tremor might trigger fear at the moment of reintroduction and throw the whole thing to the wind.
If the fish can still see each other, the situation might be prolonged. At least, I'd expect the fish to maintain their places in the pecking order.
pi-eyed;4637544; said:I had a green severum and an oscar that I had adopted together from the local pet-co. I separated the fish and the severum started showing ich like symptoms(white bumps) where none of the other fish showed symptoms. I treated the tank and the severum only got worse(????)... I finally put the severum back in with the oscar and within a day the sev's symptoms went away completely
I've also noticed that when I move the decor around in my tanks(caves,rocks,pvc, etc..) the same fish reclaim their houses no matter where I put them in the tank.
These are just a couple of experiences that suggests to me that fish have some sort of memory retention.
----Chris
When you treat Ich, the fish will look like it's getting worse for a few days. Ich can't be killed while it's attached to the fish, and when newly attached it's pretty much invisible. The white spots show up after a couple days of the parasite being attached to the fish. So, you start treatment, and no new ones can attach, but the existing ones will form new 'white spots'.
I have always heard fish have very very minimal memory retention. That is why you can catch a fish, release it, and catch it again seconds later using the same bait.
Don't know if its true, but it seems to make sense.
Don't know if its true, but it seems to make sense.