Goldfish, stupid or smart?
- Thread starter Hoyo12
- Start date
Hoyo12;3317927; said:
I highly doubt the goldfish are attempting to eat the ball...They have been trained. When they perform an objective, they are rewarded. That alone is a feat not many fish have been provent to accomplish.
I don't get how that's "Just Goldfish being Goldfish"
It really depends what you consider "smart". They definitely have brains, but they are used for different things than other fish.
Goldfish and other ostariophysans have the most advanced chemical reception of any bony fish. Not only do many of them feature barbels and/or well-developed nostrils, but the parts of their brain related to chemical reception are hypertrophied. Many cypriniforms also have "alarm" chemicals in their skin. When they are wounded, conspecifics can pick up the scent and GTFO.
The rest of their brains are fairly normal by fish standards. They can be conditioned pretty easily; my friend was able to get his to swim to one section of the tank (the safe side) when a light was turned on, signalling an incoming shock. They can also differentiate between colors in such experiments.
Their social behavior is a bit lacking though. Cichlids are considered to be more "intelligent" than goldfish because of their complex social structures and dominance hierarchies. In short, goldfish are smart at what they do naturally, but they aren't the albert einsteins of the fish world. That would be a triggerfish or something; at least with bony fish.
Although I once had a goldfish that conditioned me. He lived in a plastic tank and would slam his body against the side, making a loud drum-like beat. The thing is he wouldn't do it if I had already fed him that day. I caught on and he reminded me to feed him daily.
Goldfish and other ostariophysans have the most advanced chemical reception of any bony fish. Not only do many of them feature barbels and/or well-developed nostrils, but the parts of their brain related to chemical reception are hypertrophied. Many cypriniforms also have "alarm" chemicals in their skin. When they are wounded, conspecifics can pick up the scent and GTFO.
The rest of their brains are fairly normal by fish standards. They can be conditioned pretty easily; my friend was able to get his to swim to one section of the tank (the safe side) when a light was turned on, signalling an incoming shock. They can also differentiate between colors in such experiments.
Their social behavior is a bit lacking though. Cichlids are considered to be more "intelligent" than goldfish because of their complex social structures and dominance hierarchies. In short, goldfish are smart at what they do naturally, but they aren't the albert einsteins of the fish world. That would be a triggerfish or something; at least with bony fish.
Although I once had a goldfish that conditioned me. He lived in a plastic tank and would slam his body against the side, making a loud drum-like beat. The thing is he wouldn't do it if I had already fed him that day. I caught on and he reminded me to feed him daily.
i only read the post at the top of the page. goldfish are not bred very well to react to predators. they have not much flight and not much flight.
your question is a very interesting one indeed. there has been little selection for goldfish survival abilities when faced with a predator because man has made sure the predator is not around since breeding them. prior to man intervening to create all the wonderfully shaped coloured and further disadvantaged individuals, the species likley did not have all that many predators.
otherwise we would see goldfish in this shape or form in presence of your species in the wild..but if we did find that scenario, we would find something more likley to run or fight.
so, the goldfish is not smart and standing down the fish with any ability to beat your fish or run.. or it would run. goldfish tend to go glop glop.( thats not all they know)
it may be that effective flight has been bred out of a goldfish to some further extent than nature itself commissoned.
id say your fish is not hungry enough AND it might be that your goldfish being evolved this way has surprised your fish. kind of like a kid at school will act cool and do kung fu movements at a bully..your fish, depending on your actions will likley get hungry enough to overcome this trepadation and eat it but there are other reasons why sometimes predators will not chew up a goldfish right away.
it may hide? some goldfish will hide around a heater while the other five will be taken right away. this is all the beauty of survival coming into play right in front of you.
we have to understand that even individual fish may display variance over what is considered to be normal behaviour.
your question is a very interesting one indeed. there has been little selection for goldfish survival abilities when faced with a predator because man has made sure the predator is not around since breeding them. prior to man intervening to create all the wonderfully shaped coloured and further disadvantaged individuals, the species likley did not have all that many predators.
otherwise we would see goldfish in this shape or form in presence of your species in the wild..but if we did find that scenario, we would find something more likley to run or fight.
so, the goldfish is not smart and standing down the fish with any ability to beat your fish or run.. or it would run. goldfish tend to go glop glop.( thats not all they know)
it may be that effective flight has been bred out of a goldfish to some further extent than nature itself commissoned.
id say your fish is not hungry enough AND it might be that your goldfish being evolved this way has surprised your fish. kind of like a kid at school will act cool and do kung fu movements at a bully..your fish, depending on your actions will likley get hungry enough to overcome this trepadation and eat it but there are other reasons why sometimes predators will not chew up a goldfish right away.
it may hide? some goldfish will hide around a heater while the other five will be taken right away. this is all the beauty of survival coming into play right in front of you.
we have to understand that even individual fish may display variance over what is considered to be normal behaviour.
