You may have heard me mention the name “Marty” several times. Here’s a little bit about her.

Marty is a 3 year old golden angelfish, and my first and only angelfish. Originally believed to be a male at the time of purchase, she soon laid eggs… 

Needless to say, things were a little awkward between us for a little while… But we’re all good now. 

When Marty was first introduced, she was about the size of a quarter, and maybe two inches tall. She currently resides in a 20 gallon planted aquarium that she shares with my 13 year old Clown Plecostomus. She’s fed Tetra Color Pellets, Hikari Freze Dried Bloodworms, and the occasional chunk of banana. She was very shy upon arrival, and spent copious amounts of time hiding in the tall vallis, and it took her months to feel comfortable out in the open. Now she’s completely comfortable with me and with visitors and actively watches people and begs for food.

Marty was first taught her first behavior in April of 2012, and I’ve been working with her ever since. She’s a quick learner, but we’re currently focused on drilling behaviors into her head so we can perfect them.

Today, Marty measure about 3.5 inches long, and about 7 inches tall. As of May 20th 2012, she knows 5 behaviors: Target Touch, “Kiss”, Move Left (hand signal), Move Right (hand signal), and the Hoop Swim.

I don’t exactly know where I left off, but I’m gonna pick up again.

So, you’ve learned the art of positive reinforcement. Your fish responds well to the target and chases it in hopes of getting a treat. Now let’s move on to something a little more difficult, a hand signal.

Your hand signal should be a very simple gesture.
I trained Marty to respond to simple “Move left” and “Move right” commands.
Here’s how.

Your fish should already be responding well to the target. With this target outside of the aquarium, move it horizontally left, pairing it with a hand signal. Here, I simply point my finger to the left, and move the target left with the other hand. If your fish responds with a correct behavior (in this case, moving left) then reward him or her with food. If not, keep trying. Remember, you’re working with a fish. Patience is key.

It took Marty about a month before she learned to respond to my hand signals. Currently, she responds with anywhere from an 8-out-of-10 to 10-out-of-10 accuracy. You can use these commands for more complex behaviors later.

If your aquariums are getting too warm this summer, here’s a little idea that’ll keep your fish cool.

Take two large plastic bags, and fill them with dechlorinated water, and freeze them solid. On those days where your tanks are getting a little too warm, place one ziplock bag in the aquarium until the water has melted. At this point, if your tank is still too warm, or to keep the water at a constant cooler temperature, switch out the bags. Put the melted water back in the freezer, and the frozen bag in the aquarium, and keep that circulating throughout the day.

Also, you can unplug your aquarium heater to keep things cool. And since oxygen is less plentiful in warm water, an airstone (water bubbler) will add vital oxygen to the water to make sure your fish are comfortable this summer.

To be able to train your fish, you have to have a willing, healthy candidate and a trainable setting. 

I highly recommend that you set up a proper aquarium for your fish to feel comfortable in before you start training. A stressed out fish in an unheated and unfiltered bowl, a barren  aquarium, or in a busy community setting with too many active tankmates to distract them will yield poor success rates.

For optimal comfort, I recommend training fish in the tank in which they live. Don’t move them to a separate tank. Transporting fish is stressful, and no animal learns well when in a state of panic or anxiety.

Your best friend when training your fish will be a target. I’ve made one out of a wooden barbeque skewer. I cut off the sharp end and tied a blue rubber back at the end in a ball. This target will be used to redirect your fish’s attention, set them in position, move them around (since they will learn to follow it), and be the base of all of the behaviors they’ll learn. I recommend using toys for some behaviors that involve retrieving or playing with (say a small plastic ball) that won’t be harmful to your fish [i.e. be swallowed, leach chemicals into the water, cause abrasions to the skin, etc…], and props (a hoop, for example, made of a plastic ring attached to a pole that you can submerge in the water).

Now, who will be your top students?

Just like dogs, some fish learn better than others. For fish, their response level is typically based on their activity level and general behavior. For example, fast moving fish that live in schools like tetras, corydoras catfish, and barbs are generally unfit for training, since they have very short attention spans, and like to crowd each other and socialize.

On the other end of the spectrum, shy, nocturnal, and sedentary fish don’t do well either, simply because they are quite unresponsive. Shy, noctural catfish like plecostomus will most likely prove to be difficult. Catfish in general are not the best candidates for this reason.

Your best bets are bold species that can hold their own in solitude. Your student should probably be the only fish in the tank for best results. For this reason, the best candidates for training are:

• Cichlids 
• Goldfish
• Bettas
• Puffers
• Sailfin Mollies

So your fish do nothing but swim around all day?… They’re not as cool as your dogs and cats and your talking parrots?… They’re too dumb to be trained to do anything?…

NO NO NO NO NO

Fish are much smarter than people give them credit for. They might not look like it, but as the saying goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Many fish are capable of being trained to do simple behaviors, and even some more complex ones! I once had a betta that would swim through a hoop on command, jump out of the water to grab a treat from my fingers, flare on command, and follow a target around the aquarium.

But Gio, fish are too dumb to learn anything!…

FALSE. Contrary to the common myth that fish have a 3 second memory, most fish (goldfish in particular) have a long term memory of 3 months (so the next time you think about putting a goldfish in a tiny bowl or a barren aquarium, think about how you’re literally throwing him into solitary confinement in an insane asylum and just asking for a non-responsive pet).

My betta knew a total of four behaviors (listed above), and I’m currently working with my angelfish on a more expansive repertoire, controlled only by hand signals.

Through the use of positive reinforcement and with a LOT of patience, you too can have an amazing little Einstein of your own!

Keep checking back to learn how you too can train your fish!

BIG apologies for not being as consistent as I once was, but thank you all for bearing with me. Send me requests of the types of fish or even the different type of freshwater aquariums you’d like to see more of!

And remember, I’m always open to help you guys with anything for your aquariums and fish!

Ask here or drop me a message.

On the 12th day of Fish-Mas, Petsmart gave to me:

12 Glofish Glowing
11 Bettas Flaring
10 Neon Tetras
9 Guppies Breeding
8 Plecos Sucking
7 Mollies Spawing
6 Barbs a-Nippin’
5 Rainbow Fiiiiiiiish
4 Angelfish
3 Swordtails
2 Cory Cats
And a Three Spot Blue Gouramiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

DSCF2308 by abibainbridge on Flickr.

Neolamprologus brevis “Katabe Bay” by MalchauDK on Flickr.