Goldfish Memory Myth

This myth is so widely passed around that it even made it into Time Magazine's "numbers" section at one point.

• The Myth
  • A goldfish's memory lasts only three seconds.
• Verdict
  • Busted
• Notes
  • Jamie trained his goldfish to recognize color patterns and complete an obstacle course under water. They remembered what Jamie had taught them over a month later and easily completed the same course without Jamie's prompting. However, Adam's fish suffered from a filter malfunction and they were not getting enough food.