Algae-farming fish domesticate shrimp to improve their farms It's the first example of a non-human vertebrate domesticating another animal. Longfin damselfish. Credit: Griffith University. Domestication changed human history forever. Judging from mitochondrial DNA, scientists believe that the dog was the first animal to be domesticated nearly 14,000 years ago from wolves. Later, came farm domestications, including animals such as sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle. But humans aren’t alone in this game. According to a fascinating new study by Australian researchers, longfin damselfish ( Stegastes diencaeus) have domesticated mysid shrimp ( Mysidium integrum), whose feces is a good fertilizer for the algae that the fish farms.