Goldfish are native to East Asia and are related to the carp
family. In their natural habitat, goldfish eat insects, plant
matter, and crustaceans. They basically feel like their stomach
is a bottomless pit and can eat themselves to death. Their
intestines eventually get blocked due to their overeating and
they die. The overeating also causes them to create more feces,
because their body can’t digest the protein quickly enough.
Goldfish can be conditioned to their environment and their
behavior can be conditioned by their owners. They have social
learning skills and associative learning abilities. Their acute
vision allows them to differentiate humans. They tend to act
differently with their owners than with other people. For
example, they will swim around their tank quickly, swim to the
front of the tank, or swim to the surface when their owner is
near. Upon seeing other people, goldfish will swim away and
hide. After time goes by, they learn to associate their owner
with food and will begin to beg for food.