The wrasse that remembers

[Martin W]

A quirky tale re a fish that clearly has a memory, includes:

Quote:

The giant humphead wrasse called Bentley knows that when a "dinner gong" is sounded in his tank it's time to go for food. Experts say Bentley, who is a tropical fish, has learned to associate the noise with feeding time in an experiment that mirrors the famous test carried out on dogs by Russian scientist, Pavlov. Bentley the fish has proved that maybe fish do have memories after all He has even learned to feed from the hand of his keepers at The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, Devon. Dr Phil Gee, of the University of Plymouth, said the blue and green fish has turned into a 'Grade A' pupil.

He said: "The idea is to get him to respond to a sound, made by banging on the gate of a small enclosure just off his main swimming tank. "Bentley has learned and remembers that he will be rewarded with food when he swims into the holding pool. The longer he stays, the more he gets. "We're learning more about fish every day and they are not the cold, slimy, brainless creatures many people still believe them to be.

The fish with a memory who knows when it's time to eat

[Author]

Posts