Fish memories

If fish only have a four-second memory, then why did my little crippled fish come to life this morning when I loomed over the fish tank with the can of fish food? What made him leave his apparently comfortable spot, lying on his side at the bottom, and start wiggling his way toward the surface before I even spread the morning's bounty over the water?

The little one continues to teach me lessons in perseverance through tough circumstances. He has clearly sustained some brain damage that prevents him from swimming straight and tuckers him out, but come mealtime he stirs from his rest and goes for his share of the flakes.

I don't mean to anthropomorphize this fish . I just think other species can teach us something about survival - and when just the sight of me on the horizon spurred him to begin seeking food, it became obvious to me that he remembers events from longer ago than a few seconds.