I was wondering about that Goldie, I think my fish hear me coming as well, when I walk up the hallway normally and I get to their room, they are already waiting for me to arrive at the closest corner of the tank to the door, even at night... does anyone know how well fish see at night? sometimes I find them foraging around in the dark and wonder...
and how pedantic am I, we have been away for 7 days, so I measured out all my fishes meals in little pill cups (I kept from my many visits in the hospital) wrapped them in glad wrap and labelled what fish tanks they were for, then I had my neighbour feed them to my fish while I was away... at least there was no overfeeding issues...
Glad to hear you have a car to use Nossie, I read somewhere Finland puts you thru a lot driving courses to get your licence and it takes about 3 years if I remember rightly... probably why you Fins produce such great racing drivers... cheers all

He gets fish from the fair all the time. But he doesn't let his dad to waterchanges because he doesn't dechlorinate the water .

They used to trust their dad with fish untill....... The accident!

Us in the West get our permits when you're 15 and your licence when you're 16.
"Humies" lol Nossie  We don't live in the city but we're on city water, and that stuff is nasty as heck. We have a large ammonia reading when the water first comes out of the sink, untreated. It smells like you're in a swimming pool whenever you take a bath in it because there's so much chlorine.  Gross, right? And I mean, we drink that stuff even when it kills our fish...

Ron I totally know what you mean about being super nervous about others feeding your fish...when I was at the hospital for 6 days for my back surgery I was on pins and needles worrying I would come back and find them all over-fed, floating from swimbladder disorder, and/or dead. They made it fortunately...my younger sister watches me constantly whenever I feed them or change their water...I think she'll end up getting a goldie one of these days...

Cool picture, Fishy Jeff. I wish my camera could focus like that...or maybe it's me, not the camera. 

Fishy Jeff - so CUTE, that picture!  That's good advice, they haven't forgotten me yet, and I miss them the whole the time I'm gone, and my cat.  You make a good point.  I think they'd curl up on my bed too if they could... They'd probably be on our laps all the time, just like most pets.  

Ron, I bet your footsteps wake them up in the dark, similar effect to turning on a light.  I don't think they see well in the dark either, because they see their food better with the light on.

For the medicine I needed a couple weeks ago, I had my brother drive up 3 days in a row to put the medicine in, for their fin/tail rot.  I had put the correct amount in 3 little baggies for him.  Brothers are nice sometimes, it's a long drive for him.  
 
I don't trust my neighbors to remember, and I had one put in medicine for me just two times, maracide which is that methaline blue, really strong stuff, and she spilled some drops around the tank, staining the cabinet and towel blue, etc.  I don't know how much really went into the tank.  And I had to re-do the whole treatment a week later.  So I only trust my brother at the moment.

Sometimes I can smell the chlorine in my tap water too, but the village water reports always say it's .3 ppm.  They must have bad days where they need to add more.  My water always tests perfect out of the tap, except I don't test for chlorine or metals, but nitrates, ammonia and that are all 0.  I drank bottled water for years, but now drink the tap water because if you read up on it, it's safer, even tho it might not taste as good.

It's a pocket lumix and it isn't focused where I wanted it. With such a camera you just take a lot of pics until you get something that you want that has all the elements you want. It's a compromise as fish require high speed and the water is best at a slower exposure.

I've just started to skim the digital tons of pics and video I have  so far:

Wow a golden flower!

I'll see if I can find out anything more about it. I bought a pond liner for $50 from a friend and got the hole for free. Well it was some work... A neighbor stopped by who has water gardens and he gave me the fish, the lily and the parrots feather. I had no idea, that like roses, they came in single and double.

I'm attaching a pic with it fully open, so maybe you can tell...

I'm marginal  for water lilies with the amount of sun I get. The way they work is that in season they send up a flower that opens and closes every day for 3 to 5 days. Then a new flower will follow as will new leaves. You don't always have flowers. I only have room for one.

 I've attached a pic I just took of the pond now, as it is full. I don't think I'll get another flower.

In the second pic are from left to right: Red Dot, Little Orange and Whitey.

The pond is not deep, just under 2' max (I'm in Atlanta). It has a lot of shallows, that are now at 6" to 8". The way this worked is that I dug this out to fit the space. The earth is mounded up around the edges, which helps isolate the pond and meant I didn't have to dig down another 6" or so as about a foot is above grade. It's a 12' x 18' EPDM liner folded to fit. There is a lot of terrain variance for the small size. The bricks came from an apartment complex that is being torn down and the rocks are local finds.

The pond looks different throughout the day and how you look at it. It's a matter of lighting and composition.  About 11AM the sun throws a wicked rainbow, and at night I have the reflections of the lights. I'm working on lighting just for the fountain scavenged from LED flashlights.

  A decent photographer can always find a good shot.

  Fishy Jeff

I wonder if bettas and pleco are that smart ?

So, I've been reading up on carp fishing. It turns out that carp are hard to catch.

carp-fishing-tactics.com/catching-carp-margins.html

As long as you’re quiet when setting up and fishing you can take fish from the margins in most lakes. Carp have great hearing and will be able to pick up vibrations from the surrounding bank, thus you do need to be as quiet as possible. Banging in pegs with a hammer will only cause them to move on. During your stay try to remain hidden as much as possible, or keep low when you approach the water. Try to always wear dark green or brown clothing or better still use camouflage clothing. I usually set the bivvy up a little away from the waters edge or try to get hidden behind a tree. I also try to be light on my feet and walk around in my bivvy slippers as much as I can.

There is another article saying they can see from 15'  away. That they are line and weight shy and you should use the lightest line.

So, it seems that goldfish, by extension of being related, have superb color vision, very good hearing and long memories.

Wild fish, like carp, have to be shy and extremely cautious. But the domesticated Goldfish trusts humans. It is probably just as clever and perceptive as it's wild cousin. I suspect because it doesn't have the same fear of predation, that goldfish can more interestingly use their intelligence.

  Fishy Jeff

I believe so.  Carp were domesticated early, the Romans had extensive aquaculture. The choice is often the adaptability of the animal, that is the same reason that pigs (who are smart) are among the first of the domesticated animals.

Carp naturally live in groups in shallow waters where they feed. That makes them more susceptible to predation and they developed very good sight and hearing to protect themselves. They group together to protect themselves. When one senses something and splits, the rest generally go with him. Because of this mutual need they have developed a social intelligence. Fish, in general, have higher social intelligence than other species.

So from Chinese aquaculture ponds of Prussian Carp were noticed genetic color mutations. These are the fish that are our goldfish. The goldfish is fatter than it's wild cousins also. It fits a different niche.

Goldfish are an entirely domesticated animal that has the intelligence, social and otherwise, of it's wild cousin.

Now, check out this from Wikipedia: Domestication

Modifiable social hierarchy — Social creatures that recognize a hierarchy of dominance can be raised to recognize a human as the pack leader.

Fishy Jeff

Wow it seems common carp was domesticated a long time ago. But after amny other creatures.

great info Fishy Jeff, cheers for that, and my water lillies will come into flower soon, so I will get a pic and compare... we brought a pink one last year as well, and we are hoping to see that flower for the first time...

Thanks, I am very happy with the pond. As you can see, goldfish are just part of the attraction!

This concept of social intelligence is relatively new to me. You are correct about dogs. They are pack animals and can pick up subtle cues that people miss. They are very much tuned into what is going and who is in charge, They have higher basic social skills than people.

What I have seen with dogs is that their owners often don't assert themselves as the leader. This leads to the dog doing pretty much what it wants and the owner complaining that the dog doesn't understand them. Well it does, it's the human that has failed in the relationship. When you train a dog there are certain "tricks" that the dog picks up on instantly. You can only catch them out once, if you do the trick correctly. That is because dogs pay attention to the members of their pack.

  A fish has different social needs, and protection is very basic.

  What has sort of brought me to such an understanding is that I have cats, enough cats that I can see that they have complex social interactions. And this for animals that are primarily individualist. This social awareness is a basic wired in part of the brain.

  Goldfish are more or less always aware of what their shoal mates are up to. They eat, digest their food (relatively motionless deeper in the pond with members facing different directions), and play as a group. As far as the way they behave towards their "owners" and feeders, it seems very much like dogs and cats and cows for that matter. They learn what it takes to get your attention, or to ask for it, as they see the reward in doing so. And there is always one more on top of the goings on, and one more lost. Variety is basic to nature. Even among sheep there are leaders.

  Fishy Jeff