Do fish need love too?

[Microcosmos]

Am I anthropomorphising here, or do fish thrive better when given attention? Just wondering what my fellow fishkeepers think on this one. I know they recognize me when I walk by the tank, because they swim up and beg for food, but do they like to be seen too? And do they need, aside from mated pairs and small schooling fish where it's obvious the answer is "yes", to be with others in the tank for enrichment? Or are their brains too tiny or does it completely depend on the breed of fish or even the individual fish?


Sean Bartel

 

[Swolek]

If they do, it depends on the species IMO. I don't know if they need interaction but some seem to enjoy it. Here are a few anecdotes from my fishkeeping experiences:

-I had a mudskipper in my bedroom. He was in a higher traffic area and liked to "people watch" and beg for food. I re-arranged my room after having him for over a year and moved him to a quiet corner of the room. Nothing else changed, just the location of the tank. He started looking duller and lost weight. He picked at his food, not eating as much as he had before. I moved him to a higher traffic area close to his old location and he gained back the weight and was energetic again.

-I've heard countless stories of bettas who get "depressed" and stop eating when their owner goes on vacation. I haven't experienced this but bettas definitely can pick out their owner from a crowd. They also seem to enjoy "entertainment". Bettas that become lethargic and/or begin biting their tail when water parameters are fine are often said to be "bored". Giving them "toys" like a ping pong ball or bubble maker can help. Same with placing different colorful objects outside their tank, holding up a mirror for them to flare at, keeping the tank in a spot where they'll see people, making them chase their food, etc.

-I used to have a spotted hawkfish in a small FOWLR set-up. He seemed to like watching people. He'd get excited when people walked in the room and it wasn't always because he was begging for food (when he begged he always went to the area of the tank that food was dropped in). Every time I looked over, he was looking at me, and would swim back and forth as I walked back and forth. Stalker fish, ha.

-Puffers seem to react like my hawkfish did...they always liked to watch people. We've had green spotted puffers and dwarf puffers, both did the same behavior.

I don't know if they do better with interaction but I think some fish enjoy watching people. Others are pretty clueless.

 

[velvetelvis]

I've never had a fish who seemed to need my company, but some have definitely been more aware of/responsive to me than others. The various pairs of ocellaris clownfish I've kept have all acted like wiggly puppy dogs when they saw me, and followed me all over the tank (probably hoping for food!). My maroon clownfish's idea of interacting with me was to glare at me, and then attack. :lol: My pink skunks, though captive-bred like all the rest, were very skittish and fled whenever I approached the tank.

Other fish I've kept were either afraid of me or ignored me. The cardinals (Banggais, pajamas, threadfins) wanted nothing to do with me unless I was feeding them. The fangblennies were mellow and unafraid (the benefit of having venomous fangs, I suppose), but indifferent to me...same with the ORA mandarin that I briefly kept.

On the other hand my current fish, a CB orchid dottyback, is wary of me, but seems curious about me, too. Whenever I come up to the tank she appears and hovers in front of her favorite cave, staring straight at me. If I move she darts back into hiding, but after a few seconds she pops back out of one crevice or another to have another look, then hides, then reappears, etc. It's a different kind of interaction than I had with my clowns, but entertaining.

 

[pinnatus]

My Moorish Idol likes to race me as I walk by the tank. Sometimes I'll race him back and forth a few times. If I am sitting in my chair and even look over at the tank, the Moorish Idol notices and swims over nearest to my chair. My French Angel is like a little puppy dog. My other fish could not care less what occurs in the room.

 

[Reefing Newbie]

Well with my limited experience it depends on the fish. The clowns I have had love me and watch my every movement lol. I have had a male ocellaris(female died before I got him with the tank) who would race me like pinnatus' idol does down the whole 6' tank. I traded him in(I don't like the risk with adding a clown later) for a pair of perculas and they begged for food when I came by the tank. The male was killed by the female so I have the female in a tank awaiting someone with the want of a lone clown. Anyways, she now bobs at the top of the water when I am in the room. One time she actually jumped out of the water to show off for me(I know this because nothing was in there to scare her or chase her out). I have two baby black and white ocellaris clowns now and they are fun to watch. They act big and tough while I am in the room chasing each other and stuff like that. They love food, who doesn't lol. I am still waiting to see what they end up doing in the future.

Now to damsels. I had a sergent major(4") who only liked me for food. He would swim around my arm expecting food. The three stripe that came with the sergent major and male ocellaris clown and tank is scared to death of me. Actually people for that matter. He hides when I enter the room. I can stand in the hallway about an inch from the room and see him out enjoying the current and swimming all over. When I literally hit the "line" of where the room is, he goes to the rocks and hides.

 

[mussel and hate]

A loooong time ago I kept Oscars. They would get excited when I entered the room, doubtless anticipating a tasty crayfish snack. They were able to differentiate between me and my brothers on sight! One in particular was very fond of me. It would rub up against my hand swimming back and forth whenever I had an arm in the tank for maintenance.

I haven't observed similar behaviour in any SW fish I've kept except perhaps for a Humahumanukanukaapuwa triggerfish whom I also fed crayfish to, hmm...

 

[Microcosmos]

These are great! Thanks for the responses! I had a feeling that fish had SOME sense of the world around them (at least some fish )! And now I have a better idea what happened to my missing ocellaris. But yeah, I've definitely noticed some friendly attention from my fish, just wanted to make sure it wasn't my imagination and to find out if giving them attention makes a difference. So far, it seems like attention is important to some species of our scaly little companions!


Sean Bartel

 

[michael_cb_125]

There is no doubt in my mind that most people underestimate the "mental-capacity" of many fish species. Is a bass minnow going to beg for food, and recognize specific people, probably not. But I have had many fish that can differentiate between me and other people in the room.

For example, I feed my Bandit Angels out of a small clear cup. If I approach the tank without the cup, they follow me around and watch me. If I approach with the small cup they will almost jump out of the water with excitement.
Also, if I stand at one end of the tank, and someone else stands at the other end, they will always come to me....

Another thing that I have noticed with these guys is that they tend to "show-off" if I am in the room, but if I watch without being detected they go about their normal fishy behavior.

~Michael

 

[Daleo]

IMO, forgive me because I am a science major, fish don't need attention or companionship. They respond to a stimuli that means they will be fed. I love my fish, I name them, and I give them human-like characteristics, but I do not believe that they think human-like. I think it's a good thing to personify them, because I tend to care for them better, but I do not believe they have human feelings.

 

[pinnatus]

IMO, forgive me because I am a science major, fish don't need attention or companionship. They respond to a stimuli that means they will be fed. I love my fish, I name them, and I give them human-like characteristics, but I do not believe that they think human-like. I think it's a good thing to personify them, because I tend to care for them better, but I do not believe they have human feelings.

Killjoy






:lol: