Do fish feel lonely?

Spiffy said:
I am still convinced that my clownfish have anger management issues. I am going to record how they attack my fingers when I feed them.
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Clowns are butt-heads. Literally and figuratively. My male Ocellaris likes to attack my hands. It seems to bite hardest when it goes after my gold rings. The female likes to tail-slap any snail that dares to climb the glass nearherend of the tank, near their sleeping spot.

I used to have a dog that would feel melan-collie. 0_o
 
While I don't know if they can "feel lonely", I do notice that fish have personalities of their own. I imagine a fish taken from the ocean may feel "lonely" for the ocean. Who knows, this could be me personifying them though.

However, keeping two of each species generally result in fish aggression (in many species), and so, I would tend to think they are not so much lonely, as interested in maintaining space, access to resources, etc. So, I presume many fish are very self-interested. lol
 
Meet Bubba. Bubba is six inches taller, eats the same food you do, he moves into your one bedroom apartment, and wants to spread out. Are you lonely?
 
somne fish like being ALONE And are very territorial.. i have several aquariums, one of which is a fresh water cichlid tank.. i bought a few jaguar cichlids and one has dominated the entire tank killing everything that moved in there. even its own kind.. so if he is lonely.... thats how he wanted it to be
 
bws said:
somne fish like being ALONE And are very territorial.. i have several aquariums, one of which is a fresh water cichlid tank.. i bought a few jaguar cichlids and one has dominated the entire tank killing everything that moved in there. even its own kind.. so if he is lonely.... thats how he wanted it to be
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Sounds like socialism to me.
 
Some studies show some species have comparable learning and analitical skills to cats, dogs and even some primates. They do learn and they do show preferences for certain individuals, we see them mostly interacting with just the individual who feeds them but if someone spends time talking to them and interacting with them at their level (not standing over them as most of us do) they will show preferences. The simple fact that individual personality trumps any generic standard behavior for a species demonstrates complex learning and social behaviors far beyond mere instinct.
 
I think everyone is missing the key issue...is the individual fish an extrovert or an introvert. Somehow we have to figure out how to administer the Meyers Briggs to our fish!!
 
Yes and no. Yes in the case of male and female fishes and no in the case of aggressive males eg gobies. However having said that some pairs can get aggressive towards each other. Like clownfishes
 
Bent said:
Beings? yes.

Sentient? I would argue no. But I could be wrong.

I would think most fish are just a bundle of nerves with instincts.
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You are wrong! Fish are at least to some degree sentient beings.
They are most definitely not "just a bundle of nerves with instincts"

They can clearly feel pain and discomfort (why else would a fish scratch itself when feeling itchy?)
They can feel fear (that's why they flee when threated)
They can feel excitement (when they see you bringing the food)
They can learn and remember things they learned (that's why they know that when you stand in front of the tank with the food they will get fed)
Some can recognize each other (proven in experiments with clownfish)
Some have quite a good long term memory (clownfish can remember details of their surroundings for at least 6 months)
Some can solve relative complex problems (proven in experiments with Odonus niger)
They can feel insecure in a new and unfamiliar environment (you see that pretty much with every new fish you put into your tank)
...

I'm quite sure that many fish can feel some form of loneliness, especially those that in the wild live in pairs or groups. They definitely behave significantly different when kept in pairs or groups compared to single specimen.

Since I figured out how to pair fish up I keep all my fish exclusively in pairs or groups and as far as I can tell the fish are doing much better than I experienced it with single specimen.

I think the times of "fish collections" with one of each should come to an end. It's most definitely an outdated concept and not in line with what is called in German "artgerechte halting" (species appropriate keeping).
 
feeling lone...

feeling lone...

have feeling or not im not sure.

but im surprise some do thing of this question like i do.
i always find interesting about fish that are territory.

and 10 month ago i try to isolate a 1.5 yr yellow tang.
ya alone in a tank by itself as it was bit aggressive.. hahahha

after 10month.. when i complete my new tank cycle..
i introduce the yellow tank first into the new environment.
and 14days later i introduce a wrasses labouti.

i was smilling all the way watching what happen..
the wrasse like become his good friend. the yellow tank did
not act agressive to the wrasse instead it follow everywhere
the wrasse go. maybe the tang think now it wrasses too.

then 5 week pass i added another decora goby and see thing change.
the tang did not bother the goby. diff behavior compare to the wrasses.

next is i wait to introduce a purple tang. hehee this is going to be interesting as same family species. well will see what happen, i need to find the fish and quarantine first before experiment.

but my conclusion is i think fish no feeling but they do definitely need
companion. the tang look like it less timid and swim around the tank more
compare to when his is alone.
 
snorvich said:
Meet Bubba. Bubba is six inches taller, eats the same food you do, he moves into your one bedroom apartment, and wants to spread out. Are you lonely?
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LOL.... Good one Steve, I have to call I.T. to get a new keyboard...

If you think fish get lonely , try adding any fish to my Oscar's tank..
It's a rather extreme example, but only one will live. It may be Bubba, but my money is on Mork (my Oscar)..
He is perfectly content to be on his own....
 
I really hesitate to apply human emotions to non-human species. However, OP, I do share your point of view. Maybe not with fish that are more aggressive to their own kind (such as groupers, tangs, and other big fish). However, with small fish that usually have long pair or harem bonds (clownfish, certain wrasse, cardinalfish, etc.), I do try to add two of the same kind of different genders. I don't think fish feel lonely per se, as there are other fish in the tank usually. Honestly, it's just very very hard to assign human emotions (lonely, etc.) to nonhuman species (like with the Blackfish "documentary" for example).
 
well, I have saltwater and freshwater tanks. Saltwater Tank I have learned that after those fish living together for three years, they do not like new friends. In my Freash water tank, I have one Jaguar that will try to kill anything that I put in there. She even tried beating up an old sucker fish...really...yep ! She doesn't like anything around her, it's a battle scraping down the tank as she deems the scrubber an enemy. Not one plant in place, not a piece of wood is in the same place the next day. Even when I come to feed her, she has gills open biting at the glass. So No, I don't think she's lonely and if she is..well there's Football on the TV.
 
I'm not sure a fish can feel lonely but a lone fish can certainly feel insecure (depending on species) again this doesn't necessarily mean they want or will tolerate others of the same species but will look for certain cues regarding the security of their environment and for some fish it will mean the presence of other species for others it will mean being in a group of their own and as per the couple of examples above some fish won't tolerate others at all. So I suppose the important thing is to research the fish you intend to keep and see whether you can provide it a suitable home. Just because your tank meets the minimum for a single specimen doesn't mean you should keep it solo or conversely just because you have a large enough tank to keep multiples of a species doesn't mean you'll get away with a group.
 
Lonely? I doubt it. But I know some welcome company. And does that mean they'd feel lonely without company? I don't think so.
 
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