[phensway]

i was wondering if anyone has ever to pyschologically tried to condition their piranhas........... heres an example: turn the light on in your aquarium only when you feed your fish, so they get accustomed to eat when the light turns on??? so this way they know when they are goin to eat...........

has anyone every tried something like this with their babies??

 

[DiXoN]

i have not tried it as an experiment but i do have my light on a timer and do feed my p's at @ the same time everyday .
they always eat when the light is on even the piraya has settled into this routine as if it had always done it
dixon

 

[SnowCichlid]

I have heard of people that have their powerhead on a timer that activates the lights a minute after the water flow so they dont get startled when the lights go on

 

[Sir Nathan XXI]

yes I always thaw out their food in the same glass cup and sit it down on the stand at the same end I dump the food in. They have "learned" to know this means food as they come up to look in the glass. When they see me come up to the tank and pick it up the move up towards the lid most of the time and hit the food as it breaks the surface

 

[SnowCichlid]

if I wiggle my finger in front of the tank my pike goes crazy and follows it and then moves up and doen the glass then sits and stares at me until i drop the food in :smile:

 

[phensway]

so piranhas can be conditioned................... i juts got a baby red to try and condition her, and hopefully when i turn my lights on in the aquarium she will know its time to eat.................. and she will be ready............ just wonderin if anyone else ever tried this.......... thanks

 

[Neoplasia]

Just don't complain about them not behaving like they do in the wild.

 

[InSinUAsian]

Piranhas can be conditioned to eating. If you feed your fish at the same time every day, they will not only realize that you are about to feed them, they will get more active and perhaps even come to the glass to "beg" for food. This is what my spilos do. I think they are so conditioned that they recognize me as as a food source whenever I get near the glass now.

~Dj

 

[Sir Nathan XXI]

almost all animals can be conditioned, and yes it do feed them at about the same time every other day

 

[SnowCichlid]

almost all animals can be conditioned, and yes it do feed them at about the same time every other day

Next trick is to get them to "bark" and "roll over"

 

[Neoplasia]

It's nothing really all that difficult or special to do. All you are doing is simply making an association between an action and food. It's even done accidentally. If you feed your fish every time you go near the tank then your presence will be associated with food and they will respond accordingly. It's not really "training" as that implies a command, it's just learned behavior that if A happens then B will happen (B being food).

 

[Sir Nathan XXI]

yes, its a conditioned respone to a stimuli (something that catches their attention) and their reaction to it through many repititions, for more info do a search on pavlov's dog experiment, it is a classical example of this sort of conditioning

 

[Neoplasia]

It's more than just "something that catches their attention". If you receive food because such and such a thing happens then you will expect that every time. This has been done countless times with dogs, mice, cats, various primates etc...

 

[Mr. Hannibal]

Oscars conditioning is very common...they can learn some tricks like jump over the surface or trough a ring, eat from owners hands...still, as far as i know Ps can´t do that but they recognize feeding time!

 

[phensway]

is it that oscars are conidtioned or they just eat all the time........... becuase doesnt conditioned take training??? does anyone turn their lights on only when they feed their fish????

 

[InSinUAsian]

I never turn my lights on. From what I have seen, when I turn my lights on the fish get kinda jumpy for a sec. Not really the optimal conditions for feeding. Fish have to feel comfortable to eat usually.

~Dj

 

[Neoplasia]

I suppose technically you could call it training, but when I think of that word I think of say your dog and telling it to 'sit'. Getting your fish to come to the surface when you open the tank or turn the light on isn't quite the same thing, it is a food response, a learned behavior that tells them "ok when that thing comes close and moves something I get food".

 

[piranha 13]

Im gonna try to condition my spilo.

 

[RhomZilla]

I've never used the method of turning on the lights before feeding my Ps. My Ps actually know when its feeding time because of the same daily routine everyday. When I wake in the morn, I usually tuen on room lights and they're there waiting for food.. same when I come home from work. Plus they know which side of the tank to receive it. Also, my powerheads and lights are on timer which give a scheduled morn, afternoon, evening effect. Dark in the morn, when I get home fr work room lamps on for the afternoon, and aquarium lights turned on by timer the whole night.

 

[Neoplasia]

You have your lights on all night? Don't you ever give them a break? You should probably start using a normal daylight routine.