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Most Intelligent Thing You've Seen a Fish Do?

spitz006

spitz006

Plecostomus
MFK Member
One time I had the heat cranked up to treat some Ich in my Uarus, but I accidently left it cranked up way too high. As the water temps started to get into the 90's i felt a squirt of water hit my face from across the room. My freshwater archerfish (toxotes blythii) took it upon himself to let me know that something wasn't right in his home.

I think archerfish in general are probably the smartest fish -- the way they shape the water into the right shape of bullet with their tongue and figure out the launch angle accounting for refraction at the waterline could be considered "tool use". And they've been observed to use social learning where the younger ones learn how to shoot from the older ones.

Any other observations of smart fish?
 
I have on several occasions now seen my Red Wolf grab a borderline oversized prey item and then, while jockeying it into swallowing position, run face-first into a rock or piece of driftwood. Doesn't sound exceptionally bright, I agree, but careful observation shows that he is not smashing his own head against the obstacle but rather using it to help force the prey item into his mouth. As above, borderline tool use?
 
I once had a bristlenose get his head stuck in a plastic container I put food in and then swim all over the tank for I don't know how long trying to get it off. This is probably on par with the smartest things I've seen my fish do. So, not really a lot of smarts in my fish.

bucket.jpg
 
spitz006 said:
My freshwater archerfish (toxotes blythii) took it upon himself to let me know that something wasn't right in his home.
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention archerfish, because the most intelligent thing I have ever seen my fish do is my group of smallscale archerfish using the flow from my Sicce pumps to shoot themselves to the feeding part of the tank, instead of just swimming there.

Close behind would have to be a couple loach species. They investigate shellfish shells repeatedly after eating the shellfish, whereas non-loach bottom dwellers in the tank left them alone after the shellfish was gone.
I think they were searching the shells for more shellfish, and were quicker to associate them with food than non-loach bottom dwellers.
 
johnny potatoes said:
Once my fish got me to drive for 16 hours to get them a bigger tank.
From what I've seen, a lot of us have had fish this smart.
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Lol, mine too! Looking at it that way, my fish were smart enough to make me drive 552km in one day to get them a bigger tank.
 
manipulating me into overfeeding, my O's my bichirs, my gar, all my SA cichlids and all my barbs.... just like my dogs do
 
johnny potatoes said:
Once my fish got me to drive for 16 hours to get them a bigger tank.
From what I've seen, a lot of us have had fish this smart.
Click to expand...

I think this is the best answer you're gonna get lol.

I had a midas once who loved me - because I was the one to feed him - and didn't like my husband (because he didn't ever feed him; no one goes near my fish but me). So he would rush up to the front of his tank when he saw movement as someone came into the room. Once he saw who it was, he would either start wiggling and begging eagerly for food if it was me...or turn, flip his tail and splash water at my husband if it was him. And I know it was a deliberate thing, because he did it every. time. Lol.
 
One of my favorites was a magificant, large (16"+)male Nandopsis haitiensus submitted as an entry to an American Cichlid Assn convention a couple decades ago by Ron Georgione.
It would wait for an onlooker to come close, then with its tail, splash about @ a pint of water in the onlookers face, and appear ro be amused by what it had done.
Its tank was always surrounded by water, and needed to be constantly refilled.
It easily got me, and many others.
I believe it easily won the 'Best in Show" award that year.
 
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