News & Views

Pet Fish Learn New Tricks

Albert Einstein, a calico fantail goldfish, is not your ordinary pet goldfish. He has learned to take food from his owner's hand, swim through hoops and tubes, and even put a miniature soccer ball into a goal!

It all started when Kyle Pomerleau, 9, won two goldfish at a school fair. Soon he noticed that the fish would react to his movements whenever he came near the tank. He wondered if they were smarter than he'd realized.

He and his dad decided to train Albert. They used techniques that work for other animals like dogs and killer whales.

"We wanted to show that fish can be interesting pets, not just decorations," said Kyle's father, Dean Pomerleau.

The Pomerleaus bought a "finger soccer" kit from a dollar store and put weights on the tiny net and ball so they would sink to the bottom of the tank.

First Albert earned a food reward every time he swam toward the net. This training technique is called positive reinforcement. The fish likes the treat, so it learns to repeat the action to get additional treats.

Once Albert learned to go toward the net, Kyle and his dad added a new step—ball handling. Eventually Albert learned to push a ball into a goal.

The trainer learns patience and persistence, the father-son team says. It may take five or six training sessions a day for three weeks to teach a fish to swim through a hoop. Just like kids, individual fish learn at different speeds!

The Pomerleaus set up a Web site so other people could see how much fun they were having with their fish project. They heard from so many people who wanted to train their pet fish that the Pomerleaus started Fish School, a small business that sells fish-training manuals and kits.

Albert learned "ball handling" through training. Here he nudges a miniature soccer ball toward a goal in his tank. Photograph courtesy Dean Pomerleau