What's new

Fish having attachment

Pet of the Month Starts Now!
FishForums.net Pet of the Month
🐶 Click here to enter! 🐰

Neleono

Fish Crazy
Joined
Sep 9, 2020
Messages
273
Reaction score
171
Location
US
Hello!
I came across this article about a fish's ability to create attachment to things and remember people. I'm not sure if this is all true but its neat to think about for sure. I've heard people say that they couldn't get into fish keeping because it isn't as rewarding as a more traditional pet, which is a strange stand point, but understandable. Its nice to come home to my dog at the door waging his tail at me, showing affection. Fish just can't really do that. However, this kind of gives a different view on these things. After thinking about it more, whenever I walk in the room, my betta always swims up to me but if I have someone over, he hides in the corner, which, I guess, is kind of proof of this idea. It's neat to think that a fish with such a little brain could maybe prosses these feelings. I would love to hear all of your ideas on this and opinions. What do you guys think? Is this real or just a bunch of crazy? Wasn't sure if this belonged in this section or another but if it does please tell me and I can change it.
Best wishes, Nele.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
yes fish can show attachments towards things and people as well because they have brain, memory and stuff.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The link to the article takes me to a site wanting me to buy pet insurance. So I've no idea what theories may have been put forward, but there is some truth in this, though perhaps for different reasons.

The fish know that every time they receive food, you (a single person) are present. Assuming you don't somehow harm them, they come to trust the single person. When a second person also approaches the tank, this is danger to the fish, so it/they take cover. Eventually they might come to fear two people less, but as to whether or not they actually recognize you, I don't know. They well might, or might not.

Similar scenes play out in all fish. If you keep the aquarium in a quiet room where you are the only person around it, the fish will come to accept you as non-threatening. Fish in store tanks usually learn to accept all those people because it is continuous. Put them in the home aquarium in a room that is quiet, and after a very short time they will become fearful of people, simply because they are no longer "common." I have my tanks in a dedicated fish room, and I only enter that room to feed them, do water changes/maintenance, and just sit and observe them. When I enter the room, they take cover; but after a short time, if I just sit observing, they come out. If I make any movement, they usually disappear again for a few seconds. When I had the tanks in a niche off the living room some years ago, this never happened, because the fish were used to me moving about the space more regularly.

Some years ago I read of a discus breeder who had a fish room, and he always wore a white lab coat when working on the tanks. The discus never flinched when he entered the room, or put his hands into their tank. But whenever he brought someone in to see them, they all swam for cover. The safety factor no longer applied with strangers in dark clothing. There may or may not have been some degree of recognition of the aquarist himself, but he believed it was a case of white or light clothing seen as safe, but not dark clothing.
 
I'm sure it is a good read, but I couldn't get past the advert for Pet Assure, something I haven't the remotest interest in.
Personally, I find it sad when people insist on looking to anthropomorphise their animals in order to add 'value' to them, rather than simply accept them for the unique creatures they are.

As with all animal groups, there is a range of intellectual ability, with some fish possessing only basic cognition, whilst there are others that are quite advanced by comparison.
This range of abilities is also reflected within each individual species, with some appearing to be intellectually brighter than others. It is also accepted that other characteristics, such as nervousness vs. confidence, also follows a bell curve distribution.
So...dwarf cichlids, for example, can be assessed to have a bit more 'brain' than neon tetras.
Amongst a population of Rams, for example, there will be some who are more timid than others. There will also be some more able to problem-solve than others...and note, it doesn't always follow that the more timid are the less clever.

So your most basic fish comes imprinted with the ability to feed itself, find a mate and shoal (or not).
Fish can then learn to fine-tune these instincts when it comes to food.
Corys, for example, appear to 'enjoy playing' in streams of bubbles. Actually, they are programmed to know that a stream of bubbles usually means an influx of water and that water may well contain new food items.
Fish can recognise a variety of outside stimulation and will quickly learn to recognise us as a food source. This can be quite specific to us, with the fish recognising a set of specifics unique to us. Another person, however, would not possess those specifics and, being an unknown, is a potential threat. That said, some fish will respond the same way to any passing food source.
It would be both wrong and quite sad to convince ourselves that our fish think 'Oh good...Daddy's home and I'm going to get some nice food.' We are simple physical items that the fish associate with food. Others would be the sound of a branch falling in the pond, or a change in the weather, or a sudden downpour, preceding a flash flood of debris and tasty bits.

That is not to say that fish don't have what we understand as 'personalities'. The higher up the brain-ladder a fish is, the more complex and varied its behaviour and the more expressive it may appear to be in terms of a personality. The only issue to be wary of would be the inappropriate attribution of human characteristics and judgement calls to fish behaviour. A fish we perceive as a 'bully' is simply securing space to control, so that it can provide for a mate and please, please, please...do not try to convince me that my 'tame' Cockatoo Apisto loves me. He simply knows that interesting things happen when I am around, things that usually result in some food.

Hah! Again, Byron and I are on the same page...he just typed and posted before I did.
 
I had to rehome the polar blue parrot in my profile pic about a month ago. My son's school has a cichlid tank and they were willing to take him. Anytime when picking up my son, if I walk up on the tank he stops, comes over and flares up at me. Truly believe he remembers.
 
Hello!
I came across this article about a fish's ability to create attachment to things and remember people. I'm not sure if this is all true but its neat to think about for sure. I've heard people say that they couldn't get into fish keeping because it isn't as rewarding as a more traditional pet, which is a strange stand point, but understandable. Its nice to come home to my dog at the door waging his tail at me, showing affection. Fish just can't really do that. However, this kind of gives a different view on these things. After thinking about it more, whenever I walk in the room, my betta always swims up to me but if I have someone over, he hides in the corner, which, I guess, is kind of proof of this idea. It's neat to think that a fish with such a little brain could maybe prosses these feelings. I would love to hear all of your ideas on this and opinions. What do you guys think? Is this real or just a bunch of crazy? Wasn't sure if this belonged in this section or another but if it does please tell me and I can change it.
Best wishes, Nele.
Sure. Fish can definitely be happy to see you.
Much the same way you are happy to see your dog and your dog is happy to see you.
All 3 of you have same basic response: release of dopamine, serotonin, adrenaline, etc. AKA as feelings
 

Most reactions

trending

Back
Top