Some say that fish have memories that only last 3 minutes. Do you think that's true?

If fish do have 3 minute memories why do my fish remember that if I turn the tank light on food is coming and they come directly to the place I drop the food in?

exactly, the 3 minute memory is a fabrication.

Conditional training.

yes, which involves memory.

exactly.

But how do they remember that?

good question, how do we?

the brain is a black box. we dont really actaully know how things work inside it. they just remember, just like we do, even as infants.

although they do not have much of cognitive ability. they dont think to themselves...
"oh, well.. because she is opening the tank cover that means that she is reaching down to get food in the cabinet, meaning i will get food soon" they just know that when it opens they will get food. they dont know how things actually work or where the food comes from. Like with many animals. it is classical conditioning. like with Pavlov's dogs.

True,true...

People like to say that fish are stupid but what they do are apparently just reactions to the things that happen around them. Like when my angelfish died by running into the wall to many times, it is just a reaction to what it saw...its reflection...

right???

they actually cant see their reflection if they look at the glass directly, and im not sure if their eyes are keen enough on being able to tune into something as faint as that.

most likely your angelfish just stressed itself out, i dont think it was chasing its reflection, somthing else was bothering it. but, they are nervous fish, and sometimes hard to keep anyways.

i suppose you could say that fish aren't smart, they dont quite have the cognitive abilities of a newborn child. but, they do have learning capabilities, and i have heard of people teaching their goldfish how to do tricks. like ring a bell for food and what not. they can only do things to a certain point, they do not have the ability to develop very far, for they dont really need to.

So they can't see faint images...I wonder what could have freaked it out...but that's another story.

Well it passed me on the training thing since I didn't mean to train them. They taught themselves.

They are smart, to a certain degree.

I know. I have fish that have been with me for years. if the 3 min. memory thing is true, how come they still remember to dance for their food?

I do not think that is true because I have a pet goldfish and when I open the container of food it swims right to the spot where i drop it in.