Can Fish Love Their Owners? 

Being an aquarist, you have wondered whether your finned friends of yours love you or not. Like other pets such as dogs, cats tend to show affection and love for their owners. But what about fish? Are they just here for food and the perfect ecosystem that you’ve been working hard to maintain? This is a perplexing question. The answer to this is indefinite. As an owner who’s giving it their all to provide the best of the best life for the fishes, curiosity consumes you.  

In this article, we will go through every aspect of the question. So stick around till the end to find out if fishes show affection to their owners or not. 

Do fishes recognize their owners?  

Fishes do recognize their owners. Since they gather around while you are about to give them, it is not that they only come around when you are about to feed them or when they are hungry. There have been experiments regarding the memory or if the fishes recognize their owners or not.  

The research was done by scientists from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and the University of Queensland in Australia to evaluate the memory span of fish. They chose archerfish for their research. The reason for choosing this fish is because these fish can spit water jets to catch insects flying above the water’s surface. They are recognized for striking the target with great precision. 

In this experiment, scientists displayed two human faces above the water’s surface and educated the fish to pick one face by spitting water at it. When the fish spat water in the appropriate face, they rewarded it, and the fish rapidly learned the technique.  

The fish might learn to distinguish the faces shown after five to fourteen days and spit water at them. Even black and white photographs of those faces, as well as evened-out head forms, were recognized by the fish. With this research, it is proved that fishes can recognize and recall their owners’ faces for a long time. 

How do fishes express their emotions?  

Comparable to any other living being, fishes express their emotions as well. Fishes convey their feelings and emotions through behaviors. The owner or you can understand what your fish is going through easily by observing them.  

If the fishes are hungry they will gather up when you come near. All the fish in your tank will gather and come to the tank’s surface. You can sense if they are stressed when they go towards a corner and just stay there without any movement. A stressed fish will also become slow and lethargic. If your fish is swimming around and playing around with the decors, take it as they are cheerful. If they are hiding below the plants or decors means they are scared or have been shown aggression by other fishes.  

So there are myriad ways by which a fish can show their emotions.  

Experiments have been done as well to prove the emotions of fish.  

A Portuguese researcher subjected sea bream to both favorable and unfavorable situations in the hopes of eliciting an emotional response. They next examined this emotional reaction by measuring cortisol levels, a stress hormone, and looking at which brain regions were active. Researchers also observed fish interactions and overall behavior to gauge their reaction and then connect it back to emotional states. The research not only proved that fish have feelings, but also that they have evolved into more sensitive emotions over thousands of years and are still evolving. 

There was also another experiment that was done regarding the emotions of fish. the experiment was done with Cichlid fish. Cichlid fish exhibit emotional bonds and sentiments, according to a study done by the University of Burgundy in France. Convict cichlids were chosen for this investigation because they are known to form long-lasting couples. When female cichlids lose their chosen companions, scientists noticed that they become unhappy and gloomy about the world. 

For this experiment, they used two males with one female cichlid. The female picked one mate by displaying affection, but the scientists did not enable her to spend much time with her chosen companion. Scientists attempted to couple the female with the rejected male at some time, but they were sluggish to spawn. The scientists then ran another experiment to see if the fish were optimistic or pessimistic. They supplied two boxes, one white with goodies and the other black with none. Female cichlids eventually learned to collect the reward from the white box and discovered that the black box was empty. 

Scientists went one step farther and gave the fish a grey box. They expected that if the fish were hopeful, they would try the grey box, but not if they were pessimistic. The female fish, as predicted, disregarded the grey box. 

Now, this experiment proved that fishes have emotions and memory. So fishes can show emotions towards their owner as well. They can form a bond with you and recognize you. 

Can fishes love their owners?  

This is a debatable question, and there is no correct answer to this question. It can be concluded that it depends upon the species of the fish. So it is a matter of yes and no as well. Fish species that can socialize do give you attention, but the others might not give a hint of attention towards you. Fishes like cichlids, goldfish, and many more show affection and don’t mind being petted. But remember that even if the fish shows affection, they might not enjoy getting petted.  

How do fishes show affection towards their owners?  

There are a lot of ways in which fishes show affection for you. If you are near or around the aquarium, they will follow you or swim toward you. They will follow or swim in the direction you’re moving. They will not resist when you are petting them instead they will wish for more. If you put your hand in the aquarium they will play around it and even eat from your hand if you give them food.  

So it is a given that fishes show affection towards you and can trust your presence. But remember, if you want to pet your fish make sure your hands are clean and free of any kind of harmful chemicals. Also, don’t caress them too hard you can hurt them. 

Fishes as well have emotions and feelings. It has been proved by experiments carried out by several scientists. It is proven that fishes have emotions and can recognize their owners. But the fact that they love you varies with species. If they have socializing genes then they can love you and can show affection in many ways. Even if they do or not it is your responsibility that you take care of them and give them the best life possible. That’s the most you can do for them.