Signs of intelligence?

[RogueDiscus]

d(growth)/d(time)=f(water change)

[Jenene]

I think my betta is my "smartest" fish. Very interesting question though:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_intelligence

Very interesting Eric thanks for that. I am also going to have to look up the Bony-Eared Assfish...I just can't leave that one to the imagination...

[Jenene]

Growing up a kid we humans were really bad about generalizing all animals as "dumb". In my lifetime we as humans have discovered that many animals are way brighter then we have given them credit for in the past. Regarding fish....time will tell.
Pat

+1 on that Pat. The funny thing is there is so much WE don't know.

[Jenene]

Jenene are you implying we may have a discus manned mission to Mars in our future??��

Not quite Ryan! You must be home sick from work again and really bored! Your imagination is getting the better of you.

[CammieTime]

Oscar fish are smart, they act basically like a puppy.

[afriend]

I don't know if this is intelligence or not, but my fish have learned to recognize me from anyone else (I'm the only one that feeds them). They will gather together at the end of the tank closest to me and watch what I do. If I stand up or take a step towards them they will begin their "shimmy dance" indicating that they want to be fed. They do not exhibit this behavior towards my wife or anyone else, just me. Even if I am sitting far across the room and simply move like I'm about to stand up, they will start their dance. I even tested this by having someone else sit in my easy chair with the same shirt that I'm wearing and they clearly know the difference.

[RogueDiscus]

My cat does her own similar thing, too. Almost like they're training us!

[Kyla]

discus seem pretty smart to me.

the next several hundred years will prob settle the argument about whether humans are as intelligent as fish.

https://m.phys.org/news/2013-12-huma...s-experts.html

[LoGeek]

Well darn, I was thinking of teaching that next

discus seem pretty smart to me.

the next several hundred years will prob settle the argument about whether humans are as intelligent as fish.

https://m.phys.org/news/2013-12-huma...s-experts.html

Ha ha... that article is just redefining what we mean with the word intelligence. Dogs are obviously smarter at being dogs than we are, and also have qualities that we lack. Dumb article

The fish I've had doing the weirdest non-fishy things was an Elephantnose fish. They are really cool to watch!

[Kyla]

someone mentioned oscars being like puppies, they were my first fish and def a fav cuz of their eager begging and eye contact. i also found my fire eel to be very curious and playful.

[Jenene]

Well this turned out differently than I had thought. Many different opinions as usual. If we all thought the same way the world would be a very boring place.

Intelligence verses instinct and all the behaviors in between...we relate them to our own experiences to try to understand them. Yes, a discus that slams head on into glass and dies may not be seen as smart. I would see that as instinct- fight or flight. However before the discus crashed and died he may have exhibited a behavior in his lifetime that could be viewed as learned- such as in some of the examples above. All living things including humans do "dumb" things but that does not dismiss the idea that maybe they do contain some kind of intelligent thinking. Surely there will always be debate about it. Maybe someday one of our kids will publish a more scientific article that will enlighten us. Until then enjoy those quirky fish-discus and non-discus and all those crazy things they do that keep us watching...

If anything this thread has made us all think a little and use our intelligence (or not ) to try to understand something we may really know little about.

[afriend]

Well said Jenene.

[Second Hand Pat]

Jenene, concerning instinct many people call horses stupid when they are riding along and suddenly the horse turns and bolts dumping the rider. People forget that horses are a prey animal and view the world totally different. Discus are a prey animal too and that sudden dash is caused by a shadow, a sudden light or whatever.
Pat

[Filip]

Interesting and quite brainstorming thread Jenene .
I will just quote Douglas Adams here without adding anything else :

"For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons."

Douglas Adams,
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[bluelagoon]

I don't know if this is intelligence or not, but my fish have learned to recognize me from anyone else (I'm the only one that feeds them). They will gather together at the end of the tank closest to me and watch what I do. If I stand up or take a step towards them they will begin their "shimmy dance" indicating that they want to be fed. They do not exhibit this behavior towards my wife or anyone else, just me. Even if I am sitting far across the room and simply move like I'm about to stand up, they will start their dance. I even tested this by having someone else sit in my easy chair with the same shirt that I'm wearing and they clearly know the difference.

That is called "conditioning".