World's Smartest Goldfish

Look at the picture above — what do you see?

The fish in the photo is Albert, busily going about his high-fish-IQ business.

I'm not the only one who thinks Albert is exceptional: none other than the mighty Guinness Book of World Records, in its forthcoming edition, will feature Albert as "Fish with the largest repertoire of tricks."

The man in the photo is Dean Pomerleau, who trained Albert.

He's since "established the world's first fish-training academy, written an ebook on piscine education, and is thinking of starting a World Cup soccer tourney for the scaly little guys," wrote Joshua Davis in his Wired magazine story.

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Teaching an Old Fish New Tricks

Meet Albert, the world's smartest goldfish.

Over the past year, the calico orandan has learned to fetch, swim through hoops, and play soccer.

He's even earned a spot as "fish with the largest repertoire of tricks" in the next edition of Guinness World Records.

Albert is the progeny of Dean Pomerleau, a 41-year-old software engineer who, in a bid to assuage his daughter's demand for a puppy, decided to try out some dog-training techniques on her brother's pet fish.

With coffee stirrers, toothpicks, rubber bands, and a pushpin, Pomerleau built a food delivery system that allowed him to entice Albert with tasty morsels and reward him for positive behavior.

Within weeks, the fish was scooting through an obstacle course of tunnels, limbo poles, and hoops - he could even nudge a mini soccer ball into a goal.

Pomerleau has since established the world's first fish-training academy, written an ebook on piscine education, and is thinking of starting a World Cup soccer tourney for the scaly little guys.

Alas, his daughter isn't satisfied.

Says Pomerleau, "She still wants the dog."