How to Make a Goldfish More Interesting
Examine your goldfish's behavior., Choose a visual or audible cue for your fish., Wait for your fish to move, use the cue and reward your fish., Practice until your goldfish gets good at their trick.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Examine your goldfish's behavior.
Examine the simple things that your goldfish does and how they react to different types of stimuli.
Take notice if they get excited when you get their food, where they like to swim, and what kind of behavior they naturally exhibit.
This will not only make your fish more enjoyable, but it will also help you understand it when you start to train it.
Potential tricks include swimming in a circle, swimming under a rock, or swimming backward.
Pay close attention to their natural behavior and what the fish is inclined to do.Your fish probably already has some trained behavior, like coming to the surface of the tank when you have fish food in your hands or following your finger on the tank. -
Step 2: Choose a visual or audible cue for your fish.
The cue will tell it that it did an excellent job and should be followed by a reward in the form of fish food.
Cues include a clicker, saying something, pointing, moving a feeding stick in the tank, or shining a flashlight on the tank.You will also need a cue to initiate the trick itself, which can be any of the above options, but must differ from the cue that indicates a reward is imminent.
For instance, you can drag your feeding stick in a circular motion in the water as the "do it" cue, then use a clicker and reward your fish for the "did it" cue.
Do not tap on the glass for your cue.
The vibrations created can stress out your goldfish. , Before your can reward your fish for doing a trick, your fish needs to know that the "did it" cue equals a reward.
At first, wait for your goldfish to make any movement, then use your cue and put some food in the tank.
This will make it so your fish associates reward with your cue.
The cue must come immediately before the reward to reinforce the behavior.
If you wait too long, your fish won't associate your cue with the reward.If your fish exhibits specific behaviors such as following your feeding stick or coming up to the surface of the tank when you walk by, these actions can act as natural "do it" cues.
After a couple of practice tries, don't use the cue or reward your fish until they do the trick that you want them to.
This will teach them to associate the trick with a reward. , Classical conditioning requires a lot of repetition.
Your goldfish is reasonably smart, but it will take a lot of tries before they likely get it right, or associate your cue with a particular behavior.
Don't lose your patience and realize that it's a gradual process. -
Step 3: Wait for your fish to move
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Step 4: use the cue and reward your fish.
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Step 5: Practice until your goldfish gets good at their trick.
Detailed Guide
Examine the simple things that your goldfish does and how they react to different types of stimuli.
Take notice if they get excited when you get their food, where they like to swim, and what kind of behavior they naturally exhibit.
This will not only make your fish more enjoyable, but it will also help you understand it when you start to train it.
Potential tricks include swimming in a circle, swimming under a rock, or swimming backward.
Pay close attention to their natural behavior and what the fish is inclined to do.Your fish probably already has some trained behavior, like coming to the surface of the tank when you have fish food in your hands or following your finger on the tank.
The cue will tell it that it did an excellent job and should be followed by a reward in the form of fish food.
Cues include a clicker, saying something, pointing, moving a feeding stick in the tank, or shining a flashlight on the tank.You will also need a cue to initiate the trick itself, which can be any of the above options, but must differ from the cue that indicates a reward is imminent.
For instance, you can drag your feeding stick in a circular motion in the water as the "do it" cue, then use a clicker and reward your fish for the "did it" cue.
Do not tap on the glass for your cue.
The vibrations created can stress out your goldfish. , Before your can reward your fish for doing a trick, your fish needs to know that the "did it" cue equals a reward.
At first, wait for your goldfish to make any movement, then use your cue and put some food in the tank.
This will make it so your fish associates reward with your cue.
The cue must come immediately before the reward to reinforce the behavior.
If you wait too long, your fish won't associate your cue with the reward.If your fish exhibits specific behaviors such as following your feeding stick or coming up to the surface of the tank when you walk by, these actions can act as natural "do it" cues.
After a couple of practice tries, don't use the cue or reward your fish until they do the trick that you want them to.
This will teach them to associate the trick with a reward. , Classical conditioning requires a lot of repetition.
Your goldfish is reasonably smart, but it will take a lot of tries before they likely get it right, or associate your cue with a particular behavior.
Don't lose your patience and realize that it's a gradual process.
About the Author
Isabella Gonzales
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow practical skills tutorials.
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