The Classic Goldfish Memory Experiment, with a Twist
I have a final paper on goldfish memory, but to keep things interesting, I'll be testing not just if the common goldfish has a long term memory, what I'll be testing is...
Can Goldfish Remember Sequences?
The classic goldfish memory test is basically teaching them to navigate a simple maze, with a colored hole to mark the openings, and food as reward. If their time in navigating improves, it means they do have memory.
But, with this twist, I want your opinion on if it'll work or not (I know experiments don't have to go the way you think It'll go all the time, but I'm not wasting several dollars worth of aquarium equipment)
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The maze will be an aquarium with 3 dividers, each with a hole in different spots. There will be a colored marker to emphasize the location of the hole and serve as something easier to remember (color). Instead of a single color as most goldfish memory experiments do, since I'll be testing their sequence memory, they'll be of 3 colors, Red, Green, and Blue.
They are first taught to navigate the maze in a Red - Green - Blue sequence, with a food reward at the end. Then, the maze is changed to Blue - Red - Green. If their time changes, it means the change of sequence confuses their memory.
Alternate: 3-5 common goldfish will be the subjects. They are first taught to navigate the maze in a Red - Green - Blue sequence, with a food reward at the end. Then, they will be taught a Red - Blue - Green sequence with NO food reward. If their completion time changes, it means the change of sequence confuses their memory
To eliminate the variable of the hole's position, if the goldfish are not affected by the sequence of color, the sequence of hole position is changed to see if it confuses them more.
If they are still unaffected, the conclusion would be, they can't remember sequences.
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So, I need a few answers
1. Would this work?
2. What would be the expected (most probable) results?
3. Which is better, the first procedure or the alternate?
4. Do you have suggestions for a better experiment that tests the same question? (still using the aquarium maze though)
Help please
Thanks in advance
