Are fish dumb, or could mine be sick???

[Magnum Man]

I have a pair of 3 inch Angel fish, that I love… this morning before I left for work, I could only see one…

You’ve seen those crude fish traps on those survival shows… hey just have to swim out of the hole…

I got home from work, and still only 1 Angel fish… couldn’t find the other… I went behind the tank and removed the tank backing, and found the Angel… I have some 3 sided resin cast “hollow logs” that cover / hide the riser tubes from my under gravel filter… the Angel was in there… I took the light from my cell phone, shined it on him, and it started to move around 1 st couple gaps it tried were too tight, at the bottom, but as it swam up the gaps got bigger, and soon it swam out…

I fed fish and it ate normally the other one was happy as a puppy to see his friend… looks totally normal right now???

 

[Uberhoust]

From the fish's perspective the "gap" he swam through might not appear any different than other locations along the edge, due to the internal reflection from the outer surface of the glass, ie it might look like a continuous gap over the whole length of the contact zone from his view. After a while bumping into the glass and side of the backing, he just accepts his fate that he is stuck in a smaller space. Especially since the majority of the light was likely coming from outside of the 3d backing. The view from inside the tank is quite a bit different from the view outside the tank. Just a thought. In general, I find Angels pretty smart and unfortunately sometimes overly inquisitive, way smarter than any tetra I have known.

 

[MaloK]

Cichlids are curious by nature, Like cats they burn their 9 lives pretty quick. If the fishes get caught in the same situation too often. modify the hardscape to prevent the problem.

I had tetras locked in my filter for who knows how long. And they waited there until something happened.

If nothing happens It could be fatal. But with time they all when back in numerous times, as long as I left the setup "as is".

 

[GaryE]

It's all stupid fish til he finds diamonds in that mine shaft.