PlanetCatfish.com

I have to say that of all the cats I have kept, Ancistrus must be about the smartest. Years ago I had one that would jump into the hang-on-the-back Whisper filter, clean it of algae, and then jump back into the main tank.
I currently have a small A. sp 3 in a 55 in my living room that has figured out how to beat his/her cichlid and tetra tankmates to the food. I have seen the fish do this several times now, so I have no doubt it is a conscious act. When I feed frozen foods, the Ancistrus immediately swims to the sponge on one of the two powerheads in the tank (it is always the same one) then waits for the food to be sucked to the sponge so he/she can feast with abandon. I have never seen any other fish figure out something like this.
-Shane

that's cool!

The first act you described could almost be a stupid pet trick on David Letterman.

That is amazing Shane - it seems to indicate a learned intelligence in a small fish - whereas we recognise theintelligence in some larger species like RTC etc. Quite astounding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Shane. That's awesome that you had an Ancistrus that would go into your filter. I currently have one that does the same thing. I'll see him one day and then he'll be gone for weeks on end. Finally I either have to pull him out of the filter or he'll leave on his own. I find it amazing that it's not just one that has learned this, but they all can potentally take advantage of this food source.
Josh

The tank was an 80 gallon that set in front of a window in the living room. As the filter was behind it, and this Whisper was semi-transparent, it grew a good amount of algae on its insides. Big Momma Pleco (wife named her) would place herself under the output and jump right up and inside the filter. After cleaning the filter she did the same thing to get back in the tank. She was a big fish and made quit a loud splash going both ways. For a long time I would hear the splash while watching TV and run and check that she had not missed the jump. We eventually stopped checking as she never missed the jump.
She moved with us from western WA State to eastern WA State and eventually out to DC. In 2000 she was placed with Francine in Maryland and lived with Francine several years before she passed away. She was fully grown (about 5" SL) when I bought, so there was no telling her age. I had her around 8 years and Francine had her another 3 or 4 at least.
-Shane

This post also puts me in mind of big pleos that invert and "do a synodontis" along the water surface to get a floating food.

I've recently started feeding my Glyptothorax live earthworms. They're not as smart as Shane's fish, but they now sit vertically against the side of the tank waiting for lunch when I am in the room.

Jools

So, you mean I'm not seeing things when the group of Ancistrus sp.(3) not in the cave sitting on eggs goes to the filter intake when I feed the tank frozen food? I place the frozen food on the opposite side of the tank. The Corydoras sp. and Scleromystax barbatus make a mess and the frozen food makes its way to the intake, where the Ancistrus sp.(3) have a nice feast. Why fight traffic?
Amanda

Jools wrote:This post also puts me in mind of big pleos that invert and "do a synodontis" along the water surface to get a floating food.

Yes, my big gibbiceps learned to do that over the Christmas holidays (when she only got fed once every two days). She hangs vertically and slurps up flakes floating on the surface. It's a comical sight.

I once had P. pardalis that was 18 inches TL that would eat Tetramin flakes from the surface in an inverted position. Quite a sight.

All of my plecos and Sturisoma, adults and fry, all love to feed on sponge filters or prefilters. It is always a reliable place for them to find food. All my filters are either sponges or sponge prefilters on a few of my outside power filters. Other than feeding advantages, no fry are lost, I am able to keep large populations of cherry shrimp since none of their larvae are destroyed by a filter and it greatly extends the cleaning period for all outside power filters.