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Water jet: a simple method for classical conditioning in fish

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Abstract

Classical conditioning in animals is a learning procedure involving a biologically relevant stimulus paired with a previously neutral stimulus. In fish, light and sound are frequently used as previously neutral stimuli for conditioning tests. However, in laboratory experiments with replicates, such stimuli may influence the responses of fish in nearby aquariums. Herein, we developed a simple applicable methodology for classical conditioning in fish that prevents this type of influence. We isolated fish in individual aquariums and introduced a water jet that caused localized water movement, followed by the introduction of a food pellet. These procedures were repeated for each fish for 20 days. After 14 days, all fish were conditioned. Moreover, in subsequent probe trials (memory retention tests) conducted within 32 days after conditioning procedures, fish responded accordingly. These findings corroborate the applicability and usefulness of the method tested herein especially under lab conditions. Therefore, we suggest that a simple water jet is a useful and reliable tool for fish conditioning in future studies.

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Financial support

This project was funded by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) through a scholarship for the first author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Institute of Biosciences (IB), São Paulo State University (UNESP), Street Prof. Dr. Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, s/n°, Botucatu, SP, Brazil

    Adriana Beatriz Barretto, Caroline Marques Maia, Nina Pacheco Capelini Alves & Percilia Cardoso Giaquinto

Authors
  1. Adriana Beatriz Barretto
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  2. Caroline Marques Maia
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  3. Nina Pacheco Capelini Alves
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  4. Percilia Cardoso Giaquinto
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Correspondence to Caroline Marques Maia.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this research were in accordance with the Ethical Principles for Animal Experimentation adopted by the Brazilian College of Animal Experimentation (COBEA) and was approved by the Ethics Committee on the Use of Animals (CEUA) at the Biosciences Institute of UNESP, Botucatu campus (SP-Brazil) (Protocol # 699-CEUA).

Electronic supplementary material

Fig. 1

Learning curves of response (latency) for each individual fish to water movement, the conditioned stimulus, after the application of the water jet. Data considering conditioning daily averages (4 tests per day; mean ± SD) of latency response over the 20 consecutive days. (DOCX 633 kb)

Video 1

Fish reacting to the water movement and eating the food pellet added 10 s later. Note that each fish reacted independently to the respective individual stimulation and that the application of individual water jet in one aquarium could not be perceived by fish in the other aquarium. (MP4 23,045 kb)

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Barretto, A.B., Maia, C.M., Alves, N.P.C. et al. Water jet: a simple method for classical conditioning in fish. acta ethol 21, 169–173 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-018-0297-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-018-0297-4

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