Its a popular belief that fish cant remember anything for longer than seven seconds.

It may seem sad to think that they dont remember what theyve eaten or where theyve been， and they dont recognize their owner or any of their friends—every moment in their lives would be like seeing the world for the first time.

But dont be so quick to feel sorry for them. A new study has found that fish have much better memories than we used to think. In fact， certain species of fish can even remember events from as long as 12 days ago， BBC reported.

In the study， researchers from MacEwan University in Canada trained a kind of fish called African cichlids to go to a certain area of their tank to get food. They then waited for 12 days before putting them back in the tank again.

This suggested that they could remember their past experiences. Researchers used computer software to monitor the fishs movements. They found that after such a long break the fish still went to the same place where they first got food.

In fact， scientists had been thinking for a long time that African cichlids might have a good memory.

An earlier study showed that they behaved aggressively in front of certain fish， perhaps because they remembered their past fights. But until the latest findings， there was no clear evidence.

Just as a good memory can make our lives easier， it also plays an important part when a fish is trying to survive in the wild.

“If fish are able to remember that a certain area contains safe food， they will be able to go back to that area without putting their lives in danger，” lead researcher Trevor Hamilton told Live Science.

For a long time， fish were placed far below chimpanzees， dolphins and mice on the list of smart animals. But this study has given scientists a new understanding of their intelligence.

So next time you are watching your pet fish from outside the tank， perhaps you should feel closer to them—they may remember who you are.

許多人都認為，魚的記憶不超過7秒。

這看似有些悲哀：它們不記得自己吃了些什么，去過哪些地方，也不認得自己的主人或者自己的任何一個朋友——它們生命中的每一刻都像是第一次看到這個世界。

但別著急為它們感到難過。有新研究表明，魚的記憶力比我們認為的要好得多。事實上，據(jù)英國廣播公司報道，某些魚類甚至能記得12天前發(fā)生的事。

研究中，來自加拿大麥科文大學的研究人員對一種名為非洲麗魚的魚類進行訓練，令其游到魚缸的特定區(qū)域獲取食物。12天后，他們再次將這些魚放到了這個魚缸里。

該研究表明，這些魚能夠記住它們的過往經(jīng)歷。研究人員使用了電腦軟件來監(jiān)視魚的活動。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，在經(jīng)過了這么長的一段時間后，這些魚依然會游到它們第一次獲得食物的地方。

事實上，科學家們很早便認為，非洲麗魚或許有著良好的記憶力。

一項更早的研究表明，它們在某些魚類面前表現(xiàn)出了攻擊性，或許是因為它們記得之前曾打過架。但即使最新發(fā)現(xiàn)也依然沒有確鑿的證據(jù)能證明這一點。

良好的記憶力能讓我們的生活更方便，這也是魚類在野外生存的關(guān)鍵。

“如果魚類能夠記得哪片區(qū)域有安全的食物，它們便會游回到那里，讓自己的生命免遭威脅?！痹撗芯康氖紫芯繂T特雷弗·漢密爾頓在接受《生命科學》雜志采訪時如此表示。

很長時間以來，魚類在動物智商排行榜上都遠在黑猩猩、海豚以及老鼠之后。但這項研究卻令科學家們重新認識了它們的智力。

因此，下一次當你站在魚缸外觀賞自己的寵物魚時，你或許會對它們感到更親切——它們有可能記得你是誰。