30 second fish memory

[OrkyBetta]

Ok so my sister came into my room as I was re arranging my betta tanks so that a different betta could be near my computer. I like to rotate them so I can spend time with each. (I know, I'm a nerd.) So my sister asked me why I was doing it, and I said it was good for the amusement of my fish. She laughed and told me that fish only had 30 second memories and I was wasting my time. Who the heck came up with '30 seconds'? Its so weird and obviously not true. My fish ALL know when it's feeding time, they can tell me apart from my mom, (they don't act the same way when she comes in the room as when I do.) So can anyone here post some good evidence against this so I can prove her wrong? Thanks!

 

[nc_nutcase]

lol, I think you just did!

They can recognize the difference between the person that feeds them and other people.

My Oscars all gather at the feeding spot when I approach the tank, but go wild when I grab their pellets. They don't get that happy when I grab the remote control to the TV...

I think some people just need to minimize the intelligence of animals to justify humans 'right' to take over the world. That's just my cross eyed theory though. It boils down to people are going to think what they want to think. I'm just happy for your Bettas that you think much more rationally

 

[OohFeeshy]

Hehe, I managed to really annoy my friend with this debate. She said 'No I don't have the memory of a fish!'. I turned it into a 'how do you know that? how come they recognise you' debate. Hehe....

 

[Macracantha]

Maybe fish learn to do things instinctively and it has nothing to do with memory???

I don't know that...just a thought...and anyway, I can't remember!!!

 

[GSD]

mine remember me wen i walk past the tank they go mad and they know when feeding time is

 

[G_Sharky]

If you guys watch that show on the Discovery Channel called MythBusters, they actually did an episode about this topic...What they did was get a tank with goldfish on it and created a maze and at the end was the fish food, well they prove that the 30 second fish memory was wrong and that the gold fish actually remembers the path to the food every time, which proves that they have more that 30 second memory....maybe if you could find a rerun of this episode tape it for your sister to watch....

 

[pseud]

Mythbusters is awesome. I love that show.

Oh, and I also don't subscribe to the '30 second memory' theory.

 

[OrkyBetta]

Oh I saw that episode! *hits head* I'll have to find it again.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Considering that you can train fish to do things, they recognize their owners from other people, and know where to go for food, I'd say its wrong as well.

 

[Paul_MTS]

yep all wrong although with the ammount of customers that think its true i give up explaining after a while.

if fish have a 30 second memoery then why to they know to split when a net goes into the tank on at home my rays know to get into the net for first dibs on the food, my arowana, oscar ans sevs all wait poised for me to chuck some mealworm in, in the same place.

and how would they know what food is or what there predactors are with only 30second memory, infact they would forget whos chasing who!! you would get neons chasing angels and crabs chasing puffers

 

[SPLiSH]

and how would they know what food is

That's a very good point.. lets use bettas for an example: in the wild they automatically know that mosquito larvae = food, because of instinct. So they gobble it up.

Then in the aquarium, when they are fry, they are born with the instinct to only recognise some things as food. So when the LFS employee drops little round Hikari pellets into the tank, they have no idea what they are: might as well be UFO's. So they have to LEARN that they're food.

And learning requires a memory.

 

[isu_guy]

using food as a way to prove they have a memory is a little off... Some fish will never seem to learn that their poop is not food.

they put it in their mouth, spit it out and end a few seconds later might put it right back in.


Although I agree they have some capacity for memory, I think that eating pellets falls much more into an instinctial level, although it doesn't look like food, it might smell on some other level is like food enough for them to eat it. Humans just seem to think much too visually.

I also think that we see responses that we want to some degree. Now I believe my fish react when I come near the tank, but If we want to think that our fish react a little more to us than someone else that is what we will see. If I want to think my dog likes women more than men, thats what I will see.

Now all these things might actually be happening but unfortunately OUR MEMORY is molded and formed through our perceptions and predeterminations. Just something to think about.

 

[wrs]

baxter the goldfish knows person from person.

They have to have more than 30 seconds of memory. Something that didnt may not even live that long, they would forget to breath, especially bettas.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

It is now fact that the average pet fish has a 3 and a half hour memory and the abilty to tell commanly seen individuals apart.
Obviously this is just a rough figure; your avergae goldfish's intelligence will probably differ alot from a guppy, plec or even betta etc.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

the guppies know that when people walk in a room, they might get fed.

my pufferfish remembers when i redo his tank for about a week. i know this because that's how long he freaks out whenever i walk past instead of his usual begging for food.