Does our fish have emotions???

[Shoots2002]

Happy ,sad ,hungry..can our fish be those??

[gilpi]

Originally Posted by Shoots2002

Happy ,sad ,hungry..can our fish be those??

No. Only hungry.

[Brookster123]

Stressed and hungry

[Shoots2002]

Anyone else

[DGrab]

Originally Posted by gilpi

No. Only hungry.

also possibly a form of stress which would be closer to just uncomfortable due to their habitat not being properly set.

[molliwopp]

Sad i believe could be linked to stressed. I think they can definitely feel basic emotions yes, guilt would be a touch one though:sly:

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[Wiggles24]

I think it depends. There are species that show much greater intelligence such as cichlids. Those can absolutely show more emotion then hunger ir stress!

[venymae]

I'd say nope. Just basic needs driven by the biological need to survive. It's normal to have an anthropomorphism towards fish though. And, they certainly feel things like pain, hunger, stress - physical things.

[Shoots2002]

What about flowerhorn???

[threnjen]

Still just a fish. Probably even has less emotions from inbred genetic brain damage....

[bribo12]

Fish don't have emotions. They have basic instincts that drive their behavior. It is silly to think otherwise. Some fish are more intelligent but emotional, no.

[DragonFish71]

Pain, hunger, stress, none of these are emotions. These are all symptoms of how information is received and read by the fish's body.

Happy, sad, mad, these are emotions cause by hormones, endorphines etc in the body and read by different receivers.

Basically it sounds as though you're asking if we can relate fish to human emotions, no.

Fish see us as the food bringer. They are hungry. They go nuts for food. That is all.

Dogs see us as part us the pack. Dogs have emotions. Dogs see us after we leave for five minutes and act like we've been gone all day. They are pack animals. They need love, companionship.

[captaincritical]

I'm a big softy, so I tend to believe that most animals have feelings more complex than we realize. I think they feel the most basic of things for sure - discomfort, stress, contentment.

[Shoots2002]

Ya i am with you i think its more complicated than we think...anyhow i love my fish and any fish in our universe...

[bribo12]

It's not. Fish display basic needs and instincts. I'd like to hear an example of a fish "emotion" lol

[Shoots2002]

Clown fish and anemones....cleaner shrimp and any reef fish...what is this between them???....i think its more than we think it is and more than just feeding behavior..

[bribo12]

That is behavior. It is called commensalism. The clowns provide scraps of food while the nem provides a safe home. The shrimp gets to eat parasites and the fish gets cleaned. These are behaviors built into organisms through evolution.

[captaincritical]

I suppose I just think it's a little arrogant on our part to assume we're the only species with the ability to emote or reason through complex things.

Several studies have proven that plants grow better when peaceful music is played for them. The same thing doesn't happen when metal or other more percussive music is played, which leads me to believe it has nothing to do with vibration.

If plants can respond to soothing music, who's to say that fish can't feel more than we think? We have no way of knowing for sure because they don't communicate the same way we do. Just because something doesn't speak, it doesn't mean they don't think.

[bribo12]

I disagree that plants have feelings lol. How can an organism with no way to hear grow better under different music? But I do agree other organisms do. Dogs, cats, some birds do express emotions towards each other and us.

[bribo12]

Let me clarify, fish have nerves, they feel pain, get stressed and hungry. However saying they have human like emotions is a stretch.