Eh, I don't want to burst bubbles but... they're not that smart. For their size, yes. But they are not super intelligent.
They come to the tank front because they see you as a food source. It's all about association of you and food. They do have personalities but not to the extent of higher intelligence animals. They do not have human emotion.
That is true :), but i think they have some emotion because when they see a bloodworm........you know that look ;)
Actually not even then. They have no emotions. The have the constant thought of when their next meal is going to be not WHAT it will be, it's also why many fish don't stop eating and a lot die from overfeeding. Their natural instincts kick in and they want to take in as much as possible to be 'full' for a while so they can be less likely to starve to death.
Yes they love bloodworms, but they can't tell the difference until its in their mouth. Yes they are smart enough to put two and two together as you are the thing that makes the food present.
Also they don't 'come to their name'. If anything, they feel the vibrationsIn the water and enough times that food comes shortly after is what they are responding to.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MyRainbowBettaFish
That is true :), but i think they have some emotion because when they see a bloodworm........you know that look ;)
Yea, betta definitely aren't smarter than other fish.
The only thing for me that would make them seem smarter is that they associate me with food. My cories certainly don't, and the threadfin's a microfeeder so I don't really feed him either. They're all pretty shy of me compared to the betta, that's for sure.
All fish have a "personality," that's why they act different. It's easier to see it in a betta because it's one fish. You can't really look at a school of fish and get to know this one' a pig and that one's mean, because they all look the same. Every fish reacts slightly differently to a situation, just no one wants to sit down and get to know each of their danios of what have you. Fish have "norms," most female betta do fine in a sorority, or a group of angel fish will attack any new angels added to the tank. Sometimes this isn't true. No one knows why. Could be just Darwin- diversity is needed in a group to ensure survival. Posted via Mobile Device
Definitly smarter then people give them credit for, but they really only see us as a food source.
On the other hand Oscars are pretty intelligent, they can learn to recognize a specific person and learn to roll over for food and some even accept and enjoy being pet. A oscars personality really shines through even though their still food motivated :)
Heh. My friend's discus follow him around the room as best as they can. It's cute to see a rainbow of huge fish following someone.
I read the world's oldest koi will come when it's owner calls, even from the other side of the pond. And only for the owner, it sticks it's head out of the water to be pet.
And at some theme park where you could feed these big brown carp, they'd literally stick their heads out and hold their mouths open to have food thrown in. Of course, none of this can be called intelligence for sure. Fish have very.. Bad.. Nervous systems, and the nervous system is connected to the brain.
But then again, what is our species to judge intelligence? Posted via Mobile Device
I can definitely agree with you! Oscars can also be solitary fish. I've seen a lot of really smart oscars even though their drive really is mostly from food.
Quote:
Originally Posted by copperarabian
Definitly smarter then people give them credit for, but they really only see us as a food source.
On the other hand Oscars are pretty intelligent, they can learn to recognize a specific person and learn to roll over for food and some even accept and enjoy being pet. A oscars personality really shines through even though their still food motivated :)
I think there is a difference between what we define as intelligence and what we define as emotions. Intelligence gives a being means to interact with the world in a way that lets one survive. Emotion is what a being feels internally and psychologically. I think bettas have both intelligence and emotion, but in no way are they equivalent to human beings. They have their own ways of expressing themselves, just as we do. It's not that they are dumb, it's just the way their brains work. They have their world, and we have ours. It's like that for all organisms.
All fish have a "personality," that's why they act different. It's easier to see it in a betta because it's one fish. You can't really look at a school of fish and get to know this one' a pig and that one's mean, because they all look the same. Every fish reacts slightly differently to a situation, just no one wants to sit down and get to know each of their danios of what have you. Fish have "norms," most female betta do fine in a sorority, or a group of angel fish will attack any new angels added to the tank. Sometimes this isn't true. No one knows why. Could be just Darwin- diversity is needed in a group to ensure survival. Posted via Mobile Device
You're very right about that. It's been scientifically documented that fish have "personalities" Well it's more like fish that are more shy versus fish that are more outgoing. As you said, diversity is key to survival and there are times where a more sedate fish has advantages over an adventurous one.
But fish do not have emotions. I'm sorry. The brain capacity just isn't there. That part of their brain isn't developed enough. There are even some scientists who don't believe they can experience pain.
Fish do have very simple nervous systems. I have to agree that they feel little pain, as far as we know.. I read a convincing article on PFK about it a while back.
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