Fish experiment - Sign Language

[mr.bigglesworth]

I'm going to try teaching my fish the basic signs. Has anybody tried this before?

I first started teaching my fish the universal 'food' sign about a year ago. The sign i used was tapping my 4 fingers (index, middle, ??, and pinky) with my thumb over and over and over everyday for 6 straight months and after 3-4 mins I drop food in tank. Not all but some fish respond in a clearly seen matter such as racing up to glass and shaking head back and forth. Racing up to glass and defensively attacking other fish that get too close. Following my hand everywhere it goes (even when they don't see the food). And swimming frantically in search for food. My baby datnoid EXPLODES across the tank, shakes head back and forth, and paces himself swimming in circles over and over and over. BUT they do not respond when I put hands in front of glass without tapping fingers. Nobody cares. Unless I say food!


This is NOT a joke. Please do not perceive it as such.

 

[hamster]

only one way to find out let us know what you find.
good luck

 

[Shenanigans]

Fish are intelligent, Ive done similar things in the past and have had similar results. Classic Pavlov, but how many things in sign language are you really going to try to teach them, and how are you going to learn the results?

You could try a few different things. One thing that I had done before, was to hang a pull cord for a neon light in the tank. My fish did turn on my beer sign for food(Oscars and arowana only) The aro was only by chance, the Os learned to do it, they pulled and pulled until the saw the neon glow and then went to the feeding spot. However, I had to stop this once they became a size that they risked pulling the sign off the wall, not a safe or wise choice.

Keep us posted, its interesting to see what behaviors we can teach fish to do