What Is The Smartest Fish?

[fifefish]

I have always heard that carp were smart and like Gruffle, I have fished for them a lot in the past and they are very finicky.

i agree i was fishing on the Seine in France for carp i had every type of bait and even when it was right in front of there face they would just swim away

 

[jonny_dw]

I would agree that oscars are the smartest and fancy goldfish the dumbiest.

 

[vinylman]

Smartest fish?. The ones that don't get caught.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Have to agree that Oscars are by far the superior thinkers (not talking about dolphins), & I don't think you can top a goldfish for stupidity....

 

[Davo86]

Smartest fish are Neon Tetras or Cardinals as they love to School.....

I dunno, a lot of kids today school but not much comes of it

Most large Cichlids appear intelligent, not just Oscars, but Red Devils and Midas to name a few are equally as clever

 

[andywg]

I would say that many fish are far more intelligent than oscars.

CFC used to have archerfish which could "shoot" him with water through a tiny gap at the top of the tank when they were hungry, knowing he would go and get the food.

I have had a few marine fish recognise that I feed them and so after an initial display at a distance ignore the wife once she is nearby.

Then one can move onto the predatory tactics of some sharks (such as the Great White) which periodically peek across the sea from the surface to check what is going on before submerging again to launch an attack.

If one moved into inverts then octopus rank fairly highly.

Of course, in reality, one must first define intelligence before deciding which is the most intelligent. For us, the ability of a school of fish (as opposed to merely a shoal) to move as one amorphous being is quite amazing and a feat which requires a whole array of signals to be processed and acted on, yet these fish will almost certainly be doing it without conscious thought.

But, do we consider problem solving to be the best trait? The ability to respond to Pavlovian training?



And finally (on a lighter note), who can forget the deep sea anglerfish (of the Order Lophiiformes) where the male is parasitic and after finding a mate (who is many times larger than him) just simply latches on and receives sustenance from the female for life? Can't get much more intelligent than that in my book.

 

[Colin_T]

Smartest fish are Neon Tetras or Cardinals as they love to School.....

I dunno, a lot of kids today school but not much comes of it

LOL

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Well, if we're going to elaborate to that extent,... even the stupid looking Upside down catfish deserves a podium position...

They would look for a pair of unsuspecting Cichlids caring for there eggs, wait till their backs are turned, devour those eggs, lay their own eggs on the rock & thus get foster parents to guard there young.... uncanny!

 

[Jallen]

This just in, Comet's aren't as stupid as you first thought:
http/uk.youtube.com/watch?v=buQKZOaB6cY

 

[Attilauk]

considering my young Black Ghost Knife has learned to take food from my hands 5 days after going in the tank i would have to say he is fairly inteligent

 

[KaitRegan]

I’m going to say Betta fish, mine is trained to jump out of the water and touch my finger! Sooo sweet (which is really funny because people don’t think of fish a trainable)

 

[FishGuest5123]

I’m going to say Betta fish, mine is trained to jump out of the water and touch my finger! Sooo sweet (which is really funny because people don’t think of fish a trainable)

Above post is from 2008.

 

[Fishmanic]

My tiger barbs dance around when I play reggae music loudly. My spotted corys though are as dumb as a door stop.

 

[Colin_T]

Maybe your Cories are just chillin, man.