# how smart are piranhas



## redrum781 (Apr 10, 2006)

View attachment 104333
Just wanted to know if any one can help. My rhom seems to be very smart, he sees when i go to the feeder tank and gets exited. When I bring out the 5g buckets to change the tank, he sees them and freeks out. He also reconizes people, new people make him shy away, but not people who are there all the time. Can he tell the differance?.........HE KNOWS TO MUCH!....


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## nick007x (Sep 9, 2005)

my reds definitely can recognize different people, as per their vastly different behavior around different people-(myself, familiar, or unfamiliar)


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## Hemi (Nov 13, 2005)

there very smart

the best comment i ever heard was this

"you know, I've seen alot of fish tanks before.But i never felt like i was being stared at before.Are they really staren at me?"
this came out of my uncle (corprate lawyer) who travels regularly between USA and japan 
sometimes south america and europe too
hes told me about some of the tanks he has seen
in VPs and presidents offices of some big corporations
some dude had a humungous reef tank
he said my 180 was like a studio apartment compaired to this thing
anyways i dunno if that ties into this thread right
but my uncle has never seen my fish b4 this easter


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## redrum781 (Apr 10, 2006)

Can't say much, he is staring at me..you hit it right on the head hemi. Can you test for IQ? can i build him a puzzle to find out?.........someone out there knows.........he knows to much


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## outlook8 (Jun 30, 2003)

mine recognize me over other people and come up to the top of the tank when i walk by b/c they think they are going to be fed...


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

I don't think they're very smart, they just learn gradually through conditioning. I've found they're pretty simple minded and prone to acting out of habit than intelligence. They're great fish though, just don't think I'd call them that smart


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## Zoo_Keeper (Aug 31, 2005)

Compared to other animals, fish have the smallest brains. Just look like eye balls on a spinal cord. There is more to intellegence than brain size, however. Cats brains are getting smaller, yet they are getting smarter. It also has to do with the number of folds in the brain. A lot of scientists think that animals are much smarter than most people give them credit for.


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## kelrx8 (Apr 1, 2006)

awesome looking Rhom
I think they are smart for being a fish I like that each fish has a different characteristic about them.


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## oryschakgp (Nov 5, 2005)

Hemi said:


> there very smart
> 
> the best comment i ever heard was this
> 
> ...


Other than showing off for your rich uncle, what does this have to do with anything.


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

my brandti probably doesnt have alot of brains, he tries to attack the 6" piraya thru the divider.....and the brandti is 4"...lol


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

I think some fish are very inteligent. (for a fish that is) Such as cichlids. I know my cichlids knew who I was. they knew not to mess with me when my hand was in the tank. because they knew I would kick their asses. (had to do it a couple times) My RT bari used to stare at me all the time. He would just watch me on the computer cause his tank was right next to my chair. . I swear he was plotting on how he would one day kill me. luckly I had a hood on my tank.


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## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

zombietime said:


> there very smart
> 
> the best comment i ever heard was this
> 
> ...


Other than showing off for your rich uncle, what does this have to do with anything.
[/quote]

Other than bashing other members posts, what does your post have to do with anything?









I've noticed that my rhom realizes who I am when I sit on the couch. He'll swim back and forth to get my attention. Maybe he wants to be fed or is just attention starved. I don't know. But I also realize when someone else new comes up to the tank he'll slowly start to move back an inch.


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## Blue (Mar 23, 2005)

I think that they are really controlled by instincts, and I think that in a fish scale of intelligence I'd rate them fairly low.


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## joey'd (Oct 26, 2005)

ive been saying this all along, p's are smart, they do respond to certain things


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## TheTyeMan (Aug 9, 2004)

my reds do the exact same. as well as most of my other p's. but my reds jump out of the water when my gf comes near the tank


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## sassyO (Jan 30, 2006)

my guys watch tv...they have fav programs...lol.


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## redrum781 (Apr 10, 2006)

No sh1t, my rhom freaks out when i watch star wars. lightsabers i think


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## jeddy hao (Mar 1, 2005)

I do not think fish are very smart. They will still come up when you feed them as the same as a random person feeding them. Fish go by instinct. If they were smart, then they would probably suicide knowing that they are stuck in a cage for eternity. We wouldn't wanna be locked in a room for eternity right? Fish would probably think of ways to escape to the ocean like the movie nemo







. Even cichlids, they are not that smart. I even net them but I do not pick up and they do not flinch. don't they know they are in danger







. fish do not think at all like humans


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## Timmy44221 (Oct 11, 2005)

I think that they are inteligent enough to learn (recognize people, and beg ect.), but instinct dictates normal behavior.

As to prove they are stupid, I have my 2in rohm divided off in my pygo tank. My 5 reds are about 8in and the 2in rhom trys to attack them through the divider. Its so funny. But like I siad thats his instinct, if he was truely inteligent he would hide.


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## ___ (Feb 19, 2006)

> I don't think they're very smart, they just learn gradually through conditioning. I've found they're pretty simple minded and prone to acting out of habit than intelligence. They're great fish though, just don't think I'd call them that smart


i think this hes right but one thing i do want to add is....if the piranha is able to lear though conditioning and "repetition" i think that gives them some bit of intelligence...cuz that means they can remember

to be honest some times i think my P is smart...not just trained he does things out of the blue that makes me think he "knows to much" stuff hes never done/see/learned...we may never know

B.T.W. really nice fish man


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## Oheye8one2 (Nov 8, 2005)

I'm convinced that P's are intelligent, heck mine had me trained in less than 2 weeks...


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## Hemi (Nov 13, 2005)

my post was to say they looked at him like dinner
hes never been to my house b4 
so they never seen him
but they basically intimidated him 
like most other people who see them
the only human i know that didnt get this type of responce is my 2 1/2 year old son
they seem to want to play with him 
they will not hide if he is faced up against the tank
maybe they were trying to eat him cuz hes little

with every other person 
they get that "STAY BACK OR ILL KILL YOU " look
its wierd 
they dont hide 
they just kinda hover and stare you down
occasionally darting around

btw my fish will not eat from anyone else
i left for 3 days 
and my friend who usually tapes feedings 
couldnt get them to eat
not even putting in the food 
and playing video games for a few hours 
food was still hole and untouched
he prolly spends the second most time with them
they wouldnt let him clean the tank either
he said they didnt go to the other side of the tank like they do for me 
and one actually bite the vac tube 
i seen the tube 
it looked bite 
not a big bite but a clean nip


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

I agree with twitch. Im think it is more Pavlovian then anything.


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