An Engaged Couple of Cichlids Signed up for a Cognitive Experiment

Pair with All the Single Ladies by Beyonce

An engaged couple of cichlids signed up for a cognitive experiment to pay off some of their student debt. Not that any of them had been slackers in college, it was just how it had turned out. Helen was the one who saw the ad for the trial, and Fred usually went along with what she suggested. When they arrived for the information session, they were told that the experiment was about how emotional attachment impacts behavior towards risk and since Helen felt secure in their relationship and Fred never questioned anything it seemed just peachy.

The trial started with them being faced with two boxes, a black one with no food and a white one with food. Helen quickly learned to not bother with the black one and go straight for the white one. Fred counted on Helen taking care of him. One day there was a gray box, and at first, they didn’t know what to make of it, but Helen argued it was worth looking into because they couldn’t be sure it wasn’t food. So they made it a habit always to check the gray box, even if it only had food in it half of the time.

Then on a Thursday morning, Fred was gone. Helen couldn’t find him anywhere. She looked behind the sunken pirate ship and between plants, but he was nowhere. Helen got…