Work

Gills Just Want to Have Fun: Can Fish Play Games, Just like Us?

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: It is common to observe play in dogs, cats, and birds, but have we been ignoring play in one of the most common house pets of all… fish? Aquarium fish are often used as meditative decoration in family households, but it could be that fish have similarly diverse behavioral repertoires as mammals and birds. To examine this theory, we conducted field tests at local pet stores where a range of aquarium fish species was tested for responsiveness to laser pointer stimuli. Out of 66 species of fish tested, over 80% showed a tendency to be interested in the moving laser spots, particularly red ones. Whether this behavior constitutes play is an active topic of investigation that we examine in this work.

Source: Animals

DOI: 10.3390/ani12131684

Authors: Sofia Eisenbeiser, Étienne Serbe-Kamp, Gregory J. Gage, Timothy C. Marzullo

Institutions: Eastern Michigan University, Backyard Brains (United States), Max Planck Society, München Klinik, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology

Language: English

Topic: Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies

Subfield: Small Animals

Field: Veterinary

Domain: Health Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,885

Funders: Small Business Innovation Research, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health