[CaptMoldman (OP)]

I recognize that this is speculative science but I was wondering if there was any evidence of fish displaying emotions? I've seen video of rays that seem to be in a state of play with humans. If anyone has any information on this, I'd be really interested to read it. Thanks!

[evan_au]

They seem to make choices about who to associate with: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_intelligence#Social_intelligence

They seem to feel pain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain_in_fish

There have been experiments showing that some individuals are more timid while others are more adventurous.

[CaptMoldman (OP)]

Thanks for the links! I suspected something similar but there was no real scientific backing for my thoughts. I appreciate the reading material! Following up on the Wikipedia citations earlier today!

[cheryl j]

I would think anything with a nervous system likely fells pain, or some negative response that prevents the organism from damaging itself and withdraw. I'm not sure emotions are the same as feelings, though. Emotions set the organism in particular state that makes certain behaviors more likely, when there are multiple options. If someone insults you, and you're in a good mood, you might just laugh it off, but if you're already angry, you might punch them in the nose.

I think other animals besides humans have emotions, certainly other primates, elephants, dogs, etc. I don't know about fish, but this article is kind of interesting. It suggests that flies have a response that is similar to fear. Rather than a simple stimulus- response reaction, there is a more enduring state change that affects  behavior for a while.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150514132907.htm

"These experiments provide objective evidence that visual stimuli designed to mimic an overhead predator can induce a persistent and scalable internal state of defensive arousal in flies, which can influence their subsequent behavior for minutes after the threat has passed," Anderson says. "For us, that's a big step beyond just casually intuiting that a fly fleeing a visual threat must be 'afraid,' based on our anthropomorphic assumptions. It suggests that the flies' response to the threat is richer and more complicated than a robotic-like avoidance reflex."

[CaptMoldman (OP)]

Yeah, you're right, I should have stated my original question a little more clearly; I meant emotions as opposed to actual physical sensations. That's really fascinating about flies and actually makes me feel a bit sorry for any that I smacked with a fly swatter.