Does a goldfish really have a memory span of only 3 seconds? This is hard to conceive.
by 
Loco Lobo
ANSWERS: 7
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I find this hard to believe because everyday when it was time to feed my fish they knew it was time.
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It's hard for me to conceive. Well, that's another story...
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The tried this on an episode of Mythbusters. Their conclusion was that the myth was busted. They were able to teach the fish to go through a set of obstacles if they wanted to get food, and they were able to do it.
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I am fairly sure that this is one of those factoids that originated in a bit of sloppy research and has been repeated ever since because everybody wants it to be true. No, it is not true. It has been shown that goldfish can have significantly longer term memory. Exactly what the limits are I do not know.
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I say that can't be true after all they swim around in schools all the time. j/k No goldfish have to have good memories as they know when it is time to be fed if you keep a routine going.
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As a marine biologist, I can safely say, that the official tested result for memory tests of goldfish, is approximately 1.534 hours. (Sorry if that's a little vague). It has been tested by Dr. Jerome Au, when he put devices into several tanks of goldfish, that caused them to have reaction like to what humans have, which for us is labeled as "fear". All of the goldfish, after the experiments, attempted to avoid all of the devices, for the next 1.534 hours. Afterward, they proceeded back, to check out the devices again. It could be argued, that they forgot earlier, and was but a rupture in their instinctual patterns, but this is, (being said as a sole disclaimer), faulty in it's case, as instincts are only, and have always been, simply a series of survival codes, executed, and stored in, the integrated psyche, which is what contains all programs for survival, which is what instincts act as, as a physical buffer. Therefore, goldfish DO NOT forget after three seconds, but after about one and a half hours.
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In general they may not have great memories, but I know that the ones we had that lived outside in a pond used to understand being fed at a certain place and would come when signaled. I thought that was pretty bright of them:-)
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