What the hell do fish do all day, anyway?

[Rabrrrrrr]

Now that I have fish, I find myself loving to watch them, but find myself often asking "What the hell are they doing?"

Other than when they're eating, or snarling (fish equivalent) at each other, they really aren't doing anything except what appears to be random swimming around.

Do you think they're having fun? Are they bored? Do they have enough intelligence ot have fun or to be bored? (personally, I think they DO know how to have fun - I've watched them play in the filter output stream).

There's lots of swimming going on, but I wonder - what the hell are they doing?

I feel that I should be trying to entertain them somehow, like with a chew toy, play some fetch, or something. I realize I can't...and I know that in the wild the fish don't really do anything, either.

But my good-mannered midwestern upbringing makes me feel I have some responsibility to entertain them. :-)

[mark414]

1. i don't know

but i AM about to eat one...currently broiling in the oven..yum

that is all

[HEyHEY]

2. Plot

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. I should have known!

Little bastards aren't happy with the tank. They want the whole apartment, and the car, too, don't they?!

Damn them!

[HEyHEY]

9. Well, rev up the toilet!

[mcscajun]

3. The way I figure it...they're continually looking for the way out!

I imagine a little fish monologue: "All day long I swim around and around and around...and I can't find a decent current. This water never changes...the food stinks. There must be some more ocean somewhere. I'll just keep trying." :::LittleFishSigh:::

[redqueen]

34. Aw

that's sad. :(

[fluffernutter]

5. maybe us simply watching them is entertaining to them.

i like to watch the fish, but i also love the soft humming sound of the fishtank and the calming swishing of the fish. i love the light that comes off the water and reflects off of the walls. it's pretty cool, huh?

did you name them all?

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. Haven't named any of them yet

I'm still waiting for the names to come to me. It might take a while. I don't like to force names on things, so I wait for the name to come to me. One of my albino catfish almost got named tonight, but not quite.

I like the light that comes off the tank, too. Especially when it's the only light on in the place.

[fluffernutter]

15. I agree about the light.

I also like that you don't name things right away, that is really neat.

I saw the coolest tank the other day at a coworker's house. It was like 2 tanks with a round tube in the middle that linked them together. The fish swim between each of the tanks, and the way she had them set up was so neat.

[Der Blaue Engel]

6. They watch people

And whisper to each other: "Do you think they're having fun? Are they bored? Do they have enough intelligence to have fun or to be bored?"

(And they poop.)

[cruadin]

7. They're watching you and waiting for their chance...

and one of these nights when you're asleep....well,
just don't say you weren't warned.

[jus_the_facts]

10. Pondering the meaning o'life perhaps.....

:7

[Rabrrrrrr]

12. "Oh look, Howard's being eaten"

"Makes you think, don't it?"

LOL!

[jus_the_facts]

13. "Wot's it all about anyway?"

:D

:hi:

[Rabrrrrrr]

16. "Why are we here...

what's life all about..."

:hi:

[jus_the_facts]

18. "...is God really real...or is there some doubt..."

....well tonight we're going to sort it all out....for tonight it's the Meaning of Life! :D

[Rabrrrrrr]

19. The Meaning of LIfe Part One: Birth

"Every Sperm is sacred, every sperm is good,
Every sperm is needed, in your neighborhood!"

[jus_the_facts]

20. "One thousand and eight!"

:7

[Rabrrrrrr]

21. And this is my favorite machine in the whole hospital!

You see, we lease this back from the company we sold it to, that way it comes out of the monthly current budget and not the capital account!

[jus_the_facts]

23. "Ahh yes....it's the machine that goes...BING!"

:D

[Rabrrrrrr]

32. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Isn't it a little early to be imposing gender roles on it?"

[jus_the_facts]

35. "Who are you?" "I'm the husband!" "Well out...out you go......"

...."...only people who're INVOLVED can be in here!" :7

[Rabrrrrrr]

40. Now you may suffer from some post-partum depression, so it's lots of happy

pills for you. You can purchase a video on either Beta or 8 mm and please lock up when you leave."

[mark11727]

22. Monty Python's Meaning of Life...

...a Christmas present to myself.

...and a LoTR/RoTK (extended edition) from the missus.

Woo-hoo!

[jus_the_facts]

24. Excellent choices!

....the best o'the best indeed! :hi:

[Skittles]

11. giving us the fish-eye

:D

[steely]

14. Named one of mine Sirpoopsalot

moved him to the pond

[goodbody]

17. Watch "Finding Nemo"

and you'll learn all the pertinent facts! They're smart -- you'll see. They just wait for you to turn off the lights and then the action starts.

[DemBones DemBones]

25. If you have both males and females in the tank, it should be obvious what

they do all the time. Fish are always on the make!

My dad always kept fish, all sorts of tropicals, many tanks throughout the house, and ponds outdoors. On a visit, his mother (a very English lady) asked him about fish behavior so he told her a few things and she sat and watched for a while. Finally, she asked, "Now, why do they call them 'poor fish'?"

[ladjf]

26. Mostly looking for something to eat except during mating season.

[ulysses]

27. they say goldfish got no memory

i guess their lives are much like mine
the little plastic castle
is a surprise every time
it's hard to say if they are happy
when they don't seem much to mind

- Ani DiFranco

[GOPisEvil]

36. Mythbusters disproved that.

In fact, that episode is on now. Discovery Channel.

[Cuban_Liberal]

28. Eat, swim, pee and have sex in the water you drink and bathe in.

;)

[B Calm]

29. The fish in my pond like to follow me when I walk around the

bank. Of course they're just hoping that I came up from the creek with fresh chub minnows to feed them. Most of the time they swim in search of food and sex..

[edbermac]

30. Fish all bath together...

Though they do tend to eat one another. I often think. . .fish must get awfully tired of sea food. What are you thoughts, Hobson?

[Debbi801]

31. My daughter's 2 angel fish like to dive bomb the gravel...

and stones at the bottom of the tank. I have never seen anything like it. They're not happy until the tank is so cloudy you can barely see into it. And it is only these 2 fish that do it. The other two just ignore the whole thing. :-)

Debbi

[WMliberal]

33. well, seeing how goldfish have a memory of 3 seconds

I bet they swim around the tank constantly being surprised at all the new sights.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

37. rabrrr you are REALLY bored now, arent you?

[Blue Gardener]

38. Their favorite entertainment is feeding time

Have your fish learned you are the food source yet? My giant sized kissing gourami swims up to the side of the tank every morning and evening when he sees me. The rest of the time I am ignored. His other favorite thing is to swim upstream into the powerhead. I think it may be excercise for him.

[Rabrrrrrr]

39. I think my tetras are recognizing me now

Instead of fleeing when I approach, they seem most often to come to the glass. It's kinda nice, really.

My tetras and my albino catfish seem to love to play in the filter stream. It's a pretty powerful stream (pumping 450 gallons an hour through six small holes). They seem to love to play in it.