How smart are goldfish?????????????????

Question

my Goldfish always seem know when its feeding time!, actually when i arrive at their tank, with their food, they get all excited!

now, i had heard somewhere that Goldfish only have a 3/4 second memory, this cant be true!......... anyone have any answers plz?

Answer 1

HI Jennie, Goldfish are extremely intelligent as you are discovering! The three second memory is just an urban myth & these creatures also-in my experience-appear to observe & learn from one another's behaviour depending on whether that behaviour gets the desired result [food!]. I have seen countless displays of great intelligence from my 4 Comets & 1 Common Goldfish-the following account is just one example:

  Until recently I only fed sinking foods but as my fish are getting huge now I have introduced floating Koi pond pellets as part of their diet. At first they were puzzled how to deal with this new foodstuff but after several days they got the hang of it-so much so that now when I feed this type of food some of the pellets go to the corners where the current carries the pieces of food the fish don't immediately gobble up. They have observed this happening & now always check the corners for stray pellets. They only do this when I feed this floating food so they are obviously associating that particular smell with that food-not something that a creature with a 3 second memory would do!

Answer 2

There are probably as many definitions of intelligence as there are experts who study it. Simply put, however, intelligence is the ability to learn about, learn from, understand, and interact with one’s environment. Compliments from ABOUT.COM. GIFTED CHILDRED

The capacity to acquire and apply knowledge. Compliments of YAHOO SHORTCUT AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY

I have seen goldfish learn (call it conditioning if you will) ring a little bell when they wanted to be fed.  Yes, my goldfish and newts "beg" for food when they see me.  I am their all wonderful food dispenser.  Hmm....how could a creature be as dumb as a rock if they know who delivers, where it will be delivered, and when their food source is coming to them. I'd say smarter than a rock. Just because they do not send emails over the pc does not mean they are stupid.  There are limits/levels to each creatures intelligence.  They need to be as smart as it takes to keep them alive.

Also, goldfish do not eat themselves to death.  They do have voracious appetites but quit feeding when they are full.  They myth that they die because they ate too much stems from the fact that all that extra food "poisons" the water that they live in  - resulting in their untimely death.  Now it takes intelligence to figure this one out and decide to learn about it......

Answer 3

They are so dumb as to overeat themselves to death not unlike a lot of fast food customers.

Answer 4

Goldfish are VERY smart, and im sure they recognize you and the food lol, they do not have a 3 second memory, this myth is plain dumb. But they do create strong bonds with their care takers when treated right. Good Luck! Hope this helps.=]

[Goldfish are not dumb at all!]

Answer 5

go to discovery channel. com go to the mythbusters site and check out the experiment on goldfish memory video

Answer 6

goldfish have been proven to have a very precise internal clock.

a study was done where the goldfish were feed with a lever that, when the fish pressed down on it food would be released.

the fish learned to use the lever, much the same as a dog could.

the study has been taken farther.

when a timer was used to make the food drop, when the lever was engaged, between 8 and 9 am.

it may surprise you to learn that the fish soon learned when to attempt to engage the the lever.  they knew when it was 8 am!

Answer 7

They are not smart. Its a basic need and they know when you come up to the tank, this need will be filled. Its a reflex.