Do fish in aquariums get bored swimming around in the same tank day in and day out?
I was just saying the other day how I would hate to be a fish for this exact reason. I don’t really think that fish have the mental capacity to get “bored” though. Not that I’d actually know, but that’s a guess.
Well, Silver, when this thought came to me, I guess O was thinking that fish have their own mental capacity to get bored. It’s just not like anything we could imagine in human terms. But yeah, I’d really hate to be a fish swimming in a fish tank too. I mean, it’s not like they have to option to leave or anything.
I used to wonder that. Then I read that most fish have very short attention spans.
Now I wonder how they tested that…
Poor things…
Oh, look! A shiny piece of paper. I’m tired. That fly is not moving. Huh? Hahahahahahaha. Ok. What? George Carlin is funny. What’s on TV tonight? Getting drunk will be fun. The who? Who? Yes, I love bands!
Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction), Oh look there’s a wall (swims the other direction) ad infinitum
Keith
FWIW, I have heard it said that some people think I have the mental capacity of a fish, and for the record, I most certainly get bored.
I used to be involved with, a girl who was pre-vet and she said that goldfish only have a short term memory of 3 seconds. That’s why if you put too much food in, after they’ve eaten their fill, they’ll forget that they’re full and keep eating until they gorge themselves to death. Assuming this is true, they probably think that they are always finding new places in the bowl to swim around in. This is just something I heard and happened to remember from a few years ago, so it may or may not be totally true. The girl, afterall, pronounced the ‘Hobbes’ of Calvin and Hobbes like the word ‘hobbies’.
I, too, heard this…as I was reading the OP, it was going to be what I added here. You figure it takes at least that long to swim one lap around a small fishbowl, so by the time little Goldy gets allt he way around, he’s forgotten he was just there!
**
ouch
She must not have been all that bright. Good thing you dumped her!
“They say goldfish have no memory,
I guess their lives are much like mine.
And the little, plastic castle,
is a surprise every time.”
- Ani Difranco
dpr said:
I used to wonder that. Then I read that most fish have very short attention spans.
Now I wonder how they tested that…
Yes, I was wondering how they tested that too. I mean, I’ve held a fish–granted it wasn’t a goldfish–fasincated for at least five minutes. I look at them in their aquariums, and they’ll stare back at me. I guess they’re wondering what I am and if I’m going to eat them or something. Maybe they even wonder how come I’m outside the tank. Some fish in the tank really love playing in the jet stream produced by the water circulator thingy. I’ve seen a fish play for a good 7-10 minutes with that thing, but then I wouldn’t mind playing in it either. It’s probably the closest thing to a rollercoaster ride that fish will ever get.
Great responses all.
Of course they get bored. Hell, once the ennui really takes hold, they’ve been known to commit suicide even. Haven’t you ever seen 'em jump out of the tank? The problem lies in that they can’t push the buttons on the TV remote. And it’s exceedingly difficult to turn pages with fins.
Which brings up an, ummm, odd thought. What the hell would the cichlid suicide hotline sound like?
“I can’t take it any more. Every where I go there’s people starin’ at me. I’m really starting to feel walled in here. I’m trapped. And that constant thumping noise. I wish people would quit pounding on my walls. I can’t take that anymore either. God this is horrible; just last week my wife and best friend ate our all children. I feel like I’ve been gutted and filleted. I gotta get out of here; I’m gonna jump. I swear I’ll do it. It’s gotta be better on the other side; the algae has be greener.”
Oh dear, Uncle Beer, you mean to tell me that fish jump out of their tanks? I didn’t know that. Are you sure it’s not something else in the water that makes them seek greener pastures?
My aquarium has a lid on it. The fish always perk up when I raise the lid, but that’s because they know food’s on the way. They are interesting, though, because I’ve got some plastic vegetation in there, and they hide behind it sometimes I guess to get a little privacy. I guess I shouldn’t stare at them so, but I get to drinkin’ and in my stupor . . .
I do see what you’re saying, though. Life’s a bitch if you’re livin’ with a bunch of cannibals. Poor fish, can’t even procreate without someone getting greedy. They can’t read or watch tv or even get drunk when they want, and to top it all off they’ve got strange people staring at them all the time. It’s a fish eat fish world. What’s a fish to do?