Fish Depression

ca1ore · Dec 19, 2017

Heliarc19 said:
There is definitely no proof that they can not feel some basic form of emotion so I will choose to believe they do and do my best to keep them happy and engaged the best I can. Even if there was proof they couldn’t I would still do this lol

Cannot prove a negative! I can prove that there's a pink elephant in my backyard, but cannot prove there is not ...... because the moment I look away one may burst from the undergrowth. If people want to believe their fish love them, appreciate them and go into an emotional funk when they're away, go ahead. Heck the government has apparently been funding UFO research so there's absolutely no end to human gullibility. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence ...... and I see none that fish get depressed. Happy to remain open minded, however, as long as somebody can then tell me the required dosage of Prozac to be mixed into the fish food.

Roggio · Dec 19, 2017

Fish all have unique personalities. That’s why people have different luck with the same species. Some fish are harmonious and never fight while some are just jerks. At one time I had 18 tangs in one tank and they got along great with no aggression. Sometimes the first fish you put into the tank sets the mood. For example, if you put in a skittish fish that hides and scares easily more than likely the next fish will adopt this behavior. All of my fish are hand fed including my eels and enjoy getting scratched. Even my Zebra Moral eels which are known for being dumb get emotional. When the pair is separated they get sluggish, eat less, and spend more time in the rocks.

This is what I invision my fish thinking when I’ve been gone all day.

Jack and Sally, they’re so sweet. At night they can be seen swimming intertwined in each other

themcnertney · Dec 19, 2017

This has me thinking.
Last week my Magnificent Foxface was found in my display not swimming on the bottom of the tank in the corner. It was displaying its camo color and was breathing hard. I caught it and moved it to my sump. It seems to be recovering and eating well. It swimming has improved. In another week or so, I think I'll put it back in my DT and see how it does...Anywho leads me to this question...

Do fish catch colds, or get sick like the flu?

doughboy · Dec 19, 2017

There are known reports of fish jumpers and fish swimming into powerheads. Related to fish depression?

Heliarc19 · Dec 19, 2017

ca1ore said:
Cannot prove a negative! I can prove that there's a pink elephant in my backyard, but cannot prove there is not ...... because the moment I look away one may burst from the undergrowth. If people want to believe their fish love them, appreciate them and go into an emotional funk when they're away, go ahead. Heck the government has apparently been funding UFO research so there's absolutely no end to human gullibility. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence ...... and I see none that fish get depressed. Happy to remain open minded, however, as long as somebody can then tell me the required dosage of Prozac to be mixed into the fish food.

They have the parts of the brain needed, they can learn certain behaviors, they can creat bonds with other fish. To me these things indicate that there is a reasonable chance that they may have emotions.

Paul B · Dec 19, 2017

If they have feelings they must hate me being I eat fish almost every day.

Maddlesrain · Dec 19, 2017

I don’t think my fish particularly ‘love’ me in the way that a cat or dog might, but I do think they recognize me. I provide something for them and haven’t eaten them, so I’d go as far as to say they trust me. I make this argument because I’m massive compared to my aquarium companions, yet they swarm to the glass and eat out of my fingers. We’ve built some sort of relationship over time. I’m not saying they wouldn’t feed out of another person’s hands, but they have the cognitive ability to know that I (or someone else) will bring them food and in turn they don’t have to fear us.
They’re not stupid. Fish are actually quite intelligent animals.

Here’s a little excerpt from a study done by Culum Brown:
http://animalstudiesrepository.org/acwp_asie/75/

ca1ore · Dec 19, 2017

Maddlesrain said:
They’re not stupid. Fish are actually quite intelligent animals.

Depends upon your point of reference I suppose. I think fish are stupid; does not mean they cannot learn or associate one thing with another (me = food) though. Have an aggression problem, tape a mirror to the side of that tank and watch the yellow tang attack it's reflection for hours on end. My dog doesn't do this, and I don't think most of my neighbors do either (though I cannot be sure on all counts). Nobody's made a particularly compelling argument so I'm sticking with my original comment on anthropomorphism.

Maddlesrain · Dec 19, 2017

ca1ore said:
Depends upon your point of reference I suppose. I think fish are stupid; does not mean they cannot learn or associate one thing with another (me = food) though. Have an aggression problem, tape a mirror to the side of that tank and watch the yellow tang attack it's reflection for hours on end. My dog doesn't do this, and I don't think most of my neighbors do either (though I cannot be sure on all counts). Nobody's made a particularly compelling argument so I'm sticking with my original comment on anthropomorphism.

If you take the time to read articles written by the man I referenced above, you’ll see that fish are considered to have the same intelligence as chimps and crows in their cognitive abilities. Fish have incredible memorization skills.

Some species are known to use tools, a skill used only by a very select group of animals.

https://www.popsci.com/article/science/are-fish-intelligent-crows-chimps-or-people

Here’s another interesting article:

http://ourblueplanet.bbcearth.com/blog/?article=these-are-the-worlds-smartest-fish

Also, just as a fun fact: goldfish have been trained to do an array of different tricks... much like a dog.
This is a silly video and I’d recommend skipping to two minutes in, but just shows what a goldfish can be taught to do!