How smart are fish?

[fachatga]

what’s the most surprisingly smart thing you’ve seen a fish do in your tank?

 

[Rubblereefer]

Not saltwater, but my archerfish used to spit at people. He’s highly intelligent and totally neurotic.

 

[davidcalgary29]

My multicolor angel surfs in the currents, treats the dottybacks like toys, and is generally curious about anything that's put in the tank to see if it can be used to its advantage. It also comes out to look at anyone who looks through the length of the tank, which is different from its "is it snack time?" begging behaviour when you approach the lid. I don't know how to gauge piscine intelligence, but it exhibits the most recognizable type of behaviour that people tend to reward in their pets.

My lemon damsel is also a pretty fast learner. I give it points for that. The rest of my fish don't really respond to human-induced stimuli and just go about their business my tanks.

 

[sloogan]

My Melanurus wrasse smashes algae wafers against the rocks to break them up.

 

[Auquanut]

Not salt water, but I have an 8 year old angelfish in my 125 planted FW tank who has learned behavior.

When I started feeding thawed bloodworms from a small cup, she would get excited and peck the cup before I could start letting the BW's flow out of the cup. Over time, she learned that if she waited downstream, the food would come to her and she quit pecking at the cup.

Not to be outdone by my Brainiac fish, I started submerging the bottom of the cup, but not releasing the goodies until she pecked the cup. It took awhile, but she figured it out.

Now, she watches to see the cup approach the tank and practically jumps out of the tank to peck at it. Then patiently waits downstream for the goodies to come to her.

I guess she's got me trained pretty well.

 

[fachatga]

This is awesome. We expect so much out of cats and dogs and such. But beyond why we have reefs and fish they really are more than we give them credit for.

 

[Ardeus]

Here's a video I did on the only true colonial fish in the world.

To live in a society with multiple levels of organization, they developed lots of social skills.

 

[MaxTremors]

My dog face puffer would spit water at the me at the surface of the tank and make a sort of tongue pop sound whenever I was close to the tank and she was hungry (which was basically always). By far the friendliest, most intelligent, and most personable fish I’ve ever had.

 

[Bars]

Perhaps not necessarily smart, but rather curious are my Mccosker's wrasse and midas blenny. No matter what I do in or around the tank, they're right up against the glass, my arm or hand. Every other fish hides as soon as my hand touches the water, except for them.

My Melanurus wrasse smashes algae wafers against the rocks to break them up.

I love seeing my wrasses do this! Mine do it with pieces of shrimp or clam. Every now and then I spot my chrysus wrasse smash micro brittle stars against the rocks until the legs fall off.

 

[Biddence]

My Midas Blenny slaps the water with his tail fin (pretty loud for size) when he wants to be fed

 

[PatW]

Nassau grouper are pretty smart. In the Cayman Islands, dive masters leading scuba dive groups carry spears to kill invasive lion fish. The grouper know this. They will follow the dive master. Some will even swim ahead and like a pointer, point to hidden lion fish. Once the lion fish is killed the grouper gets it.

 

[Bronx_Discuss]

I would say they are pretty smart but all have various levels of smartness. Quick example. My Naso tang would dart around the tank and kick up what I target feed my corals so that they can eat it for themselves once it’s suspended.

 

[Tchung23]

I feel like my bluespotted jawfish is pretty smart. He always seems to be scanning the room when people are there.

 

[Themastaa]

My baby blue hippo tang shadows my flameback angel. If the angle is picking at the rock so is Dori. She is like the angles little puppy dog. At first the angle did not like dori and would chase her away but now she just deals with her. Also when I sit next to my tank they know I’m there and change their behaviors accordingly as if they are showing off

 

[ca1ore]

Anthropomorphism ......

 

[TheDragonsReef]

I feed my eel every 2-3 days but he always knows when its time cause i turn the pumps off. Opening the lid he does nothing, pumps go off and hes out of the rocks everytime haha

Also not a fish but i have 3 brittle stars in the tank, one that is much more intelligent than the others. Sometime in the middle of the day he climbs up my hob filter and hangs out under it. Hes learned that come feeding time when it gets shut off the food always tends to pool up there right by the filter and he scoops it all up.

 

[BelieveInBlue]

My freshwater angels follow me when I walk past the tank but not anybody else because I'm the only one that feeds them.

 

[HB AL]

My triggers are definitely the smartest, as soon as they see the the food container they start there spitting relentlessly until I feed them. Heres a couple vids showing them.

 

[LegendaryCG]

what’s the most surprisingly smart you’ve seen a fish do in your tank?

My lightning maroon takes chunks of substrate over to the mushroom corals in the tank and angrily tosses them at them.

 

[Hydrored]

Smart enough to tell time, mine know feeding time and all gather to the corner before a cup even comes out. My Vlamingi likes her belly rubbed so who knows, they are all crazy.