Do Fish Have Personalities?

[Chef Dave]

When I lived in South Texas, I had a 10,000 gallon fresh water pond. I bought some koi from a local nursery and the fish thrived. Not only did they quickly acclimate to their new home, but they'd come to the surface for pieces of bread. Whenever I climbed into the pond, which doubled as a water hole during the height of the summer, I had to "buy" the koi off by feeding them so that they wouldn't nibble on my fingers and toes.

I'm now in Arizona. The koi in my new pond rarely come to the surface. They swim lazily along the 18 foot length bottom of the pond. When I drop bread in the water, they wait for the bread to sink to the bottom. They won't come anywhere near me, so there's no need to feed them before I hop in the pond.

I am wondering why the behavior of these koi is so different from the fish I had back in Texas.

The only variable I can think of is that I didn't have cats back in Texas. I have cats in Arizona and since installing a pet door and cat proofing my fence, my little furry friends have been allowed the run of the backyard.

During the three months that my cats have been in the yard, they've been wreaking havoc on the local wildlife who hitherto have been drinking from the shallow water of a bog garden. Within a week of allowing them in the backyard, I woke up on a Saturday morning to find myself nose to beak with a dead pigeon that was lying on my pillow. When I rolled out of bed and shoved my foot into a bedroom slipper, I found the squishy cold remains of a Sonora toad.

Is it possible that the cats have been terrorizing the fish ... and if so, is there anything I can do to make the fish feel more comfortable short of banning the cats from the yard?

 

[Fraxinus85]

they sure do, my friend! there's some koi species that are more sociable than others, but all koi can be trained to eat out of your hand. here's my question: what are the sides of your pond like? if they drop straight down, cats normally don't bother the fish; however, if they're sloping, it's easier for predators to nab your koi out of the shallower water. your koi have eagle eyes, and can hear you coming from the vibrations in your footsteps from far away; with this knowledge, you can train your koi to eat out of your hands only and ignore predators. a friend of mine whistles the song from "Leave It To Beaver" when he walks over to feed his fish, and they literally jump out of the water because they know it's feeding time and they recognize his foot vibrations. if you establish a feeding regimen for them where you're the food source, they'll learn to trust you in no time. hope that helps! :icon_smile:

 

[Chef Dave]

here's my question: what are the sides of your pond like? if they drop straight down, cats normally don't bother the fish; however, if they're sloping, it's easier for predators to nab your koi out of the shallower water.

My pond is 18' long by 10'wide with a maximum depth of 4'. The deep section is surrounded by pond shelves of 1-3 feet in width. I also have a bog garden with an average depth of 5 inches.

To get to the koi, the cats would have to get their feet and bellies wet. I can't imagine my cats doing this.

The only other change I can think of is the quality of the water. When the koi first went into the pond, I had a minor algae problem. The koi would come to the surface for their food. Now that the water is crystal clear, they don't come to the surface at all.

I hadn't thought about how different species might be more prone to socialize. I'll have to do some on-line research about this.

I find it interesting that the two goldfish I got from Wal-Mart have decided to hang around with the koi. I have 3 large koi (about a foot in length) and two goldfish who basically hang out together in the depth of the pond.

The mosquito fish hang out in the shallows. Whenever the cats approach, they flee to the center of the pond ... but whenever the cats leave, they're back in the shallows.

 

[Fraxinus85]

another thing i forgot to add is that your fish will start to hang out at the bottom of the pond quite a bit as winter progresses (it's warmer down there). my koi are already staying low, and i've stopped feeding them for the year. oh, and the most friendly type of koi is the Chagoi; they're not always the best looking, but they have awesome personalities! also, if you begin your feeding regimen next spring, it normally takes koi about 3 weeks (in my experience) before they feel comfortable enough to be hand fed. hope that helps!

 

[DrDave]

I have had cats for over 60 years and ponds for 40 years. Not only do my cats not bother the fish, in all these years, none of my neighbors cats have either.

I have observed them watching the fish but never bothering or harming them. Cats are fascinated by the movement.

When I had lethal electric fencing, the only victims were raccoons.

 

[Fraxinus85]

dave definitely has well behaved cats! :coolgleema: lucky! i've had a few cat problems over the years, but it sounds like you're all protected, chef dave. but yeah, chagoi are the way to go; my friend has one that's about 20 inches long, and it actually will rub all over your hand (sort of like a cat :icon_mrgreen if you let it hang in the water. cool, huh? :goldfish:

 

[Meekaboo]

My cats seem to be very interested in watching the fish, but never seem to hunt them. They do hunt birds, squirrels, mice etc. The many stray cats seem to behave likewise. The only time there has been any physical interaction between the species is when my cat is eating the fish food from the pond and the fish gets a hold of the cats tongue instead of the food! The cat is the one offended by this. The fish doesn't seem frightened at all.

As to whether fish have personalities....I believe so. I have one fish who I call Scaredy Spice. She is always at the back of the pack, the last to come up to eat, the first to flee and the hardest to view. Another fish seems to be the curious one. Always first to see whats going on in and around the pond. I can point to any fish in my pond and describe its personality.

 

[DrDave]

Too funny, wish I had video of the fish on the cat's tongue moment. I have several ferrel cats nearby that sometimes visit the pond at night. I know this because my raccoon alarms go off and wake me. They too seem to just watch the fish.

My own cat has brought home rabbits almost as big as him. he loves to hunt and spends all day doing just that. When he is tired, he just sits by the pond and watches the fish. I really think he is more afraid of them than the other way around.

 

[Meekaboo]

DrDave,
I have tried videotaping the cat at the pond, but the fish never bite when the camera is on !!!LOL!!!

 

[koiguy1969]

My koi hate being filmed, it doesnt matter whats going on,eating from my hand,letting me pet them or just being freindly,once the camera comes out; it ends. they dive and spread out, and become "coy",yes, i guess there was pun intended. they seem to be going out of their way to not let me shoot quality video or stills, and the ones that are O.K. i cant figure out how to upload anyways. this began when they came indoors.

 

[Priscilla519]

Maybe b/c they see the light on the camera or the reflective glass lense?