How to Train Your Fish

If you think fish are dumb -- don't tell your fish that! Many fish are easily trained with a little patience and a few simple tips.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A hoop big enough for your fish to swim through comfortably.
• Treats your fish loves.
• A flashlight

1. Start off with just the flashlight and treats. Briefly turn the light of the flashlight on so the fish can see it (but don't blind your fish!), and immediately give your fish a treat. Be sure that you are putting the treat where the fish will immediately see and eat it. This teaches your fish that the light means food, and the light will be used to mark the fish's behavior when it does something you like. Give about 5 treats this way. Stop for now.

2. For the next session, repeat the above for 2 treats. Next, place the hoop in the water about 2 body lengths from your fish. As soon as your fish "acknowledges" the hoop, flash the light. Your fish may orient to the hoop, move slightly towards the hoop, or do something else that shows interest in the hoop. Any of these behaviors are fine.

3. Once you flash the light, immediately feed. Place the food such that the fish has to swim closer to the hoop.

4. After the fish has eaten, remove the hoop. Put it back into the water at the same distance as before, and wait for the fish to offer the same "acknowledgment" behavior as before. Flash the light and again give a treat that makes the fish move closer to the hoop. Remove the hoop and repeat 1 more time.

5. For the next session, you can start straight away with putting the hoop in the water. If your fish consistently (80% or more) responds to the hoop entering the water for 2-3 sessions, then you can change the behavior you're looking for. Now look for the fish to swim to the hoop on its own, or if it already swam a little, wait for it to swim a little further than before. Always reward such that the fish moves closer to the hoop.

6. When the fish is swimming 3/4 of the way to the hoop, start placing the treat such that the fish has to swim through the hoop to get the reward. As long as you are having 80% or better success, keep increasing what the fish has to do -- swim up to the hoop, barely poke his mouth through the hoop, poke his head through the hoop, etc.

7. Your ultimate goal is to have the fish swim all the way through the hoop as soon as you put the hoop in the water.

Tips & Warnings

• Always reward so that the fish is doing more of what you want to see. Once your fish is starting to poke through the hoop, reward so that it must swim the rest of its body through the hoop to get the reward. Don't reward right in front of the fish so that it can stay in the hoop and still get its reward.
• Adjust how many treats you give based on your fish. Some fish may be able to eat more treats; 5 treats may be too much for others.
• Adjust where you put the hoop if necessary. If the hoop scares your fish at 2 body lengths, move it further away until you can put it in the water without scaring your fish. If your fish doesn't notice it at 2 body lengths, move it closer.
• Whatever you decide to give as a treat must be eaten quickly -- if it takes your fish 5 minutes to eat your treat, your fish will not learn the behavior well.
• For bettas, frozen bloodworms are an excellent treat, and are easily fed with a blunt toothpick. Jelly bracelets make a good hoop, and a simple twist-tie can be twisted on to help hang the hoop into the water.
• Ideally, use a flashlight that comes on when you press down on the button and turns off when you release -- not one that you press once to turn on and press again to turn off. The latter type, as well as sliding switch types, do not allow for a very brief flash of light.
• Never overfeed your fish! Doing so can pollute the water and cause health problems.
• Take care not to damage your fish's eye with the light. When flashing the light, aim the beam of the light downwards or at some other angle such that the light does not directly hit your fish's eye.

Resources

• Fish School

[Psalmist4M]

on 7/12/2008 Wow, who'd-a-thought! Interesting article. Thx, cherylgoff.com