You may not be able to play a proper game of fetch with fish, but that doesn't mean they don't know how to have fun. It turns out that some species of fish play to have fun just like other animals, according to a new study published in the journal Ethology. This is the first study that shows that cichlids, a species of freshwater tropical fish, play with objects.
A research team that included University of Tennessee professor Gordon Burghardt, psychology research assistant Vladimir Dinets and James Murphy of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, observed, studied and filmed three male fish during a period of two years. The fish repeatedly attacked a thermometer in a tank, which satisfied Burghardt's definition of play.
"Play is repeated behavior that is incompletely functional in the context or at the age in which it is performed and is initiated voluntarily when the animal or person is in a relaxed or low-stress setting," Burghardt said in a statement.
