Can my fishies see me through the glass?

[Donna]

I have been hotly debating with the hubby on this one.... can they see us? he believes/was told that the fish can't see past the glass, but i've seen fish spooked by quick movements. understood, this was either coincidence or i'm right. I'd like to think the latter.

I know that fish will follow a finger when it is placed directly onto the glass, but can they see a waving hand beyond when it's not in contact?

obviously no one can really know, unless they have a talking fish, so let me know what y'all think.

 

[CaptainAhab]

They see you. The anecdotal proof is that when I get anywhere within 3 feet of my tanks they all head to the front/surface begging for food.

 

[Mystery]

The can certainly visually perceive beyond the glass. How well they actually see and understand what they see depends on the species.

 

[mgamer20o0]

i have some fish as soon as i get with in a couple feet all head to the side where they get feed. others as soon as i get close they dart away. they can see you and they do watch you.

 

[Drewbie]

yes they can see you regardless if my lights are on or off in the room

I get to close to the tank they fly up like its feeding time

 

[WhiteDevil]

Whats even better is they sense you before they see you.

 

[Speakerman]

my fish definately see me, sometimes when I enter the room 10 feet away, they act like they want to get fed.

 

[happygirl65]

I have actually tested this by walking from one end of the tank to the other and my angelfish always followed me back and forth....I am convinced they saw me and what's more...they knew it was me and wouldn't perform this way for anyone else, I am the one with the food, so they recognized me vs the kids....

 

[WhiteDevil]

^^^ very true, except they are showing this attention to my 3yo daughter too now, however she seems to feed them better then I do, no mess no evidence, they eat it quick.

I gotta catch her in the act though.

 

[meegosh]

I have actually tested this by walking from one end of the tank to the other and my angelfish always followed me back and forth....I am convinced they saw me and what's more...they knew it was me and wouldn't perform this way for anyone else, I am the one with the food, so they recognized me vs the kids....

This is exactly how my angelfish acts. Whenever I get home from work he is there staring at me, moving his tail back and forth like he's wagging his tail or something. He will not put on the same show whenever the wifey comes home.

Even if I walk up to the tank, my clown loach and upside down catfish dart into the java moss. My guppies and angelfish all come up to the glass and wait to be fed. When I walk the length of the tank the angelfish is always right beside me, eying me up the whole time.

I also think they can see out of the water (through the top). When I had my guppy fry problem I would net some fry and feed them to the angelfish. As soon as my net was above the 30g tank, my angel would start thrashing back and forth, knowing that he was about to get a tasty snack. I tested this and brought the net up from his blind side and as soon as it was above him he started blowing his kisses at the surface, waiting for something to fall. I'd say without a doubt fish can see out of the tank... Both out the glass, and through the water surface.

 

[bs6749]

My discus can see me 15-20 feet away and they go into "frenzy mode" where they go up and down and left and right hoping that food is coming. It usually is, since I feed my adults 4-5 times per day. All of them will eat out of my hand too. I think they can tell me apart from other people as well.

 

[Donna]

This also answers my next marrige-dependance-political question then, do fish have a memory longer than the supposed 3 seconds? i'm certain they do, otherwise how could they remember where the food comes from?

P.S. thanks for everyone's replies, it's been interesting learning the different behaviours of other people's fish.

 

[Mystery]

There are different kinds of memory. Most fish's working memory (used to solve immediate problems) is quite short. But once something gets into their long term memory it can be there for life.

 

[CichliditisExtremitis]

I have absolutely no doubt that our fish can see us through the glass. I also believe that they are very intelligent, and in some cases, quite the manipulative psychologists. They can communicate with us through their body language -- including strutting and dancing -- and even by the look in their eye. Boy have I received some demanding messages that way!

If you want further proof, consider this:

My main four-foot tank is situated just to the left of my left elbow, as I sit here typing at my computer desk. In other words, my tank is perpendicular to my computer desk, kind of like an upside-down letter "L", where the long part of the "L" is my tank, and the short part of the "L" represents my computer sitting on my computer desk.

Because of this setup, they can see my computer screen, particularly late at night when the house lights are off, and I am typing madly away on a tropical fish messageboard like this one.

Well, if you still are not convinced that our fish can see through the glass, consider the fact that just now, my fish told me to scroll back up the screen because he hadn't finished reading the previous paragraph yet!

Now are you convinced?!

 

[Zakk]

oh most definatly! they are not really the 3 second memory spans people belive them to have. yes, they do have one of those but like Mystry said, they use that for a quick solution to a problem. my fishes know when it feed time and when i'm just doing something with the tank.

 

[fisherman876]

off course they can see you through the tank glass...i also have noticed this through all these years of my fish keeping

 

[Donna]

i feel sorry for my fish now, having to put up with my ugly mug staring at them. (i'm quite short sighted so have to get pretty close, poor guys!)

 

[CichliditisExtremitis]

One must wonder if they think that we humans are as beautiful as we view them to be beautiful. Or maybe they wonder why we have no gills.

 

[DizzCat]

do fish have a memory longer than the supposed 3 seconds?

I know they do! Mine react to strangers! If its me or someone who is over a lot (like my daughter) in the room, they go about their business like normal. If someone comes in and they have never seen them before, or only once or twice they all hide and peek out at them from inside their caves. Once that person leaves, as soon as the front door closes, they come out. Another example: one of my cats likes to tease them. Well, I have 5 cats and if any other cat lays in front of the tank my male Red Zebra ignores them. But, if my one cat lays down, he attacks her thru the glass, postures and is just totally wound up until she leaves! He does not do this to any of the other cats! Makes me wonder what the heck she did in the past LOL. So, not only can he see the cat thru the glass, he recognizes her!

My favorite time to watch my fish is after dark with all the lights but the tank lights off. I don't think they can see me as well that way, it turns the tank wall into a mirror of sorts. Its when it is like this that they attack themselves in the glass and get right up in my face to see me better

My son and I had an argument going one time. He insisted that the fish could not hear me. He was staying with me for a couple weeks and he noticed that every time I feed them or just watch them I talk to them. Can't help myself LOL. He insisted that they cannot hear me. But, after watching how they reacted to my voice, he conceded that they can hear me, but they can't understand what I am saying. I will give him that one hahaha

My Mbuna know that a small net means fry time too. When they see a small blue net over the tank above the water they all come to the top waiting. That is why when I add a new fish I have to be careful and put it in with my hand. If I use a net they will go after it, no matter its size.

I have discovered too that Cichlids are much smarter than community fish in these ways. In my planted community tank, it is only my Bolivian Rams who display a knowledge of strangers and such. The other tank mates, Tetras, danios, etc. do not show all these intelligent behaviors. I am not knocking these fish, I love my little guys, just stating my observations.

 

[asudavew]

Mine go nutz when I get within 15 feet of the tank.
No doubt.. they can see me!