Goldfish have memories far longer than a fabled few seconds, researchers at Macquarie University find

A goldfish’s memory is far longer than the fabled few seconds, it appears.

Professor Culum Brown said the belief that a fish can only remember for two or three seconds is “laughable”.

The behavioural ecologist from Macquarie University in Sydney has a “cynical perspective” on where the belief started but said just like any other living species, fish adapt by learning and if they did not have memory, they would “not last long in the real world”.

He conducted research in an aquarium that showed a group of goldfish recalling the escape routes they took from netting nearly a year later.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Naturebang, Professor Brown said: “By the end of four or five trials, they would basically be swimming calmly in front of the net.

“And about halfway down the aquarium, they would literally do a U-turn and swim directly through the hole. And I was just like, ‘Wow, this is incredible’.”

He added that fish also recognise each other and prefer to swim with familiar individuals.