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i got my betta to follow my finger. does anyone else have taught their fish tricks? and how?

~elaine~

I havnt tought any of my fish tricks, but ive heard paradise fish can jump through hoops

I've got a fish that just loves to play dead. It has gotten really good at it, and floats at the top of the tank almost like a real dead fish! That dang thing just floats for hours; in fact I can't remember the last time I saw it swim. Guess it just likes playing possum. Maybe I'll apply for that Book of World Records or something.

Last edited by sirbooks at 26-Jun-2005 07:22

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Fish don't do tricks.
You're just manipulating natural behaviour to amuse yourselves.

That can be said of any animal.

In fact, I would hazard a guess that the definition of the word "trick" in relation to animal behaviour is basically an amusing or functional natural behaviour that can be carried out on demand.





For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

my beta jumps out of the water dident *teach* it to do anyhting, oh, and my bettas eat out of my hands but ever sence my best girl got a boyfriend she pays more attention to him than me.... oh well,

My porcupine puffer would follow a ball, go nuts everytime he saw a the yellow cup that we used to thaw his food, and go slightly less nuts for a yellow crayon bank.

He also would let you pet his head when you gave him an algae wafer and eat out of your hand.

That can be said of any animal.

In fact, I would hazard a guess that the definition of the word "trick" in relation to animal behaviour is basically an amusing or functional natural behaviour that can be carried out on demand.

When someone finds macaws roller skating in the wild, I'll agree with you.

I guess we have a different definition of the word 'trick'.

To me an animal trick is training an animal to do something it normally cannot do without human intervention. Things like getting your fish to follow your finger and the like are a display of a fish's instinct in captivity. Not much of a trick when its what come natural to them

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

I had a common goldfish named Bob for several years (until my Aunt decided to do a water change for me one time... ACK!). He was around 8 inches long, and would blow bubbles whenever I came into the room. Somehow over the years I managed to get him to learn how to swim into my hand when I would put it in the water a certain way and he would let me pick him up. It was definitely very cute, even if it was bad for his slime coat. One of the bettas I have now is quite the acrobat, and LOVES to jump up out of the water to take food from your hand. Sometimes she gets a bit overzealous and jumps up before I even have the food in hand because she knows it is coming.

skateboarding macaws??

well, ok, but i guess its exploiting perching and mimicry, just in a somewhat unnatural setting.

though, i'd like to see it try it on an ordinary branch.


now, if it could construct a skateboard, then i'd be excited

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Hm, fish tricks, lets see. Does it count as a trick when you try to clean a tank and the oscar living in it mistakes a finger for a pellet? My 7" oscar decided to eat my finger when I was doing a gravel vac yesterday, taught me a trick anyway. Thought the wife was gonna pee her pants. All of my large cichlids are hand trained, now it seems this one is trained to bite the hand that feeds him.
I have a pair of green scats that arent so much trained as they are highly excitable. Every time I walk up to the tank they will rush the glass and shimmy excitedly, watching my every move, right up to the point where the food hits the water.