Hi
Good husbandry is good enrichment and vice versa.
sorry that this is a ramble Greg but please pick on any points for clarification
Enrichment doesn't need to be about toys and games. Certainly it works and in many cases, like octopuses, necessary to stimulate their brain and simply give them something to do but with all the species I keep just now (over 100 species and thousands of individuals) I try and give them fish some enrichment just by simply giving them conditions like they would have in the wild.
As an example, I am always dismayed when I see fish like discus kept in bare tanks. I am not much of a discus fan personally but many keepers keep them this way because it is easier, more convenient. If I was to keep them I would set them up in a tank that mimicked their natural environment as much as possible.
Okay, this is a difficult one to explain but the reason I know that the fish I keep are content with the conditions I provide is because they will breed. And they live a long time. I have some fish that are pretty old for their species. I have neon tetras at more than 5 years, 2 snakeskin gouramies pushing ten years, a pair of silver sharks at ten, A couple of Synodontis angelicus as 12 plus...
There is a conflict between aquarists and enrichment and it revolves around the fact that if people have a pet fish they want to be able to see it and enjoy having it by watching activity. The conflict is that in many cases this is anathema to the fish and that it would much rather be hiding, lurking in the shadows keeping well away from us.
Your average fish tank is sparkling clear, brightly lit and bustling with activity. The majority of fish exported for the pet trade come from water so stained with tannins it looks like tea (think discus, angels, tetras) and a bright tank is so alien.
Here is a perfect example. Betta persephone... cool name and rare in the wild. Lives in peat swamps and can actually survive by crawling about in damp leaf litter when the water dries up. The water in its natural habitat is dark, cool and has a pH of 3 - 4. It might live in a typical community aquarium with other fish like I just mentioned but it would not be "happy" and it certainly would not breed. I keep mine in tanks measuring 12x8x8 inches, with about 4" of water, heavily stained with peat, high in humic acids and a layer of about 2" of dead oak and indian almond leaves on the bottom...
Do i ever see the fish? Once in a blue moon!!! LOL
Do they appear to act naturally? yes, they hide and skulk about in the leaf litter.
Will that ever make a good display animal for a zoo, aquarium or home aquarium? absolutely not! And that is a big problem when it comes to discussing enrichment because the necessity to have enrichment in captivity results from the fact that most animals are kept in conditions unsuitable for the animal.
Would you pay money to go to a public aquarium and not see any animals? Thats what would happen in many cases if the animal's captive environment were a replica of its wild habitat. If you really gave a large O vulgaris or GPO the space it really needs to be "happy" in its tank you would probably never see it. That's not good for business and that is the conflict of interest.
What I am saying is that the best form of enrichment, as far as i am concerned, is relative to providing the animal with as near to natural surroundings as possible. This is obviously a lot easier with a 4cm Betta persephone than a GPO. Personally, if i only see the fish once a month I dont mind, I have so many others to look at that its not a problem. But i see why that would be a problem with someone with one or two tanks where they might never see their pets.
What I am getting at is that there is a conflict between what is right for the fish and what we want the fish to do i.e. we want to see the fish we spen the money on.
Enrichment should not be about toys and games it should be about providing the animal with what it needs to act naturally and if that means hiding all day - so be it.
I used to really enjoy watching people in my old fish shed. If they knew nothing about fish they would look at the giant gouramies (16" plus) and love them! They would just quickly glance at the tanks "with nothing in them"... BUT fishkeepers of a similar interest to myself would give the big fish a quick glance and then spend ages scouring the tanks full of leaves and getting a thrill when they see what lives in there.
It is also necessary to mimic water quality... e.g many of my fish are in a pH of 3-4. Many of which are often kept in tanks by hobbyists with a pH up to 7.5 or even 8. Look at clown loaches, mine are at pH 3.5 Most books will say 6.5. yet, mine have produced eggs! My silver sharks, another commonly kept fish, pH 5... they look fantastic.
Anyway, ramble ramble ramble
its all about the conditions
cheers
C