Cognition
Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) have been found to remember the location of food rewards in their environment, implying that this species has a good spatial memory. With koi carp being derived from Cyprinus carpio, it is likely that they possess the same ability.
In addition, the common carp has been found to be a good learner when compared with other fish species, in a task where they had to follow a light in order to avoid an electric shock. Similarly, common carp have been found to avoid hooks after having been caught by one – another example of how this species is capable of learning and adapting to changes in its environment.
In another fascinating study, Cyprinus carpio learned to discriminate different genres of music such as classical and blues. This is a remarkable example of the high level of cognition in this species, and interestingly, different types of music have been found to affect growth rates in carp.
Social Interactions
Fish are good at recognizing other conspecifics and tend to shoal with familiar fish rather than unfamiliar ones. The ability to recognize individuals indicates a certain level of intelligence, and fish can also gauge the size of shoals, suggesting that they have good numerical abilities. They also rely on social feedback for decision-making, and group size has been associated with increased accuracy in these decisions. Although this is a characteristic of fish in general, it is reasonable to assume that koi carp possess this level of social intelligence.
Research has found that koi carp will seek out contact with humans, with individual differences in how the fish interacted with them, suggesting that variation in personality may be at play. However, these differences may also be due to variations in the learning experiences of each fish.
Conclusions – Are Koi Carp Smart?
Although research into the cognition of koi carp is limited, given the great intelligence of their relative, the common carp, and the general cognitive abilities of fish, we can safely assume that koi are a smart species. With this in mind, they should be kept in enriching environments that allow them to use their brains and fulfil their natural behaviors.
