"When we touch them with a rod (READ - Poke them with a stick), they show rapid escape responses" I find it interesting that stick poking is still considered a scientific methodology.

The article seems wrong since it seems to based solely on the scientist's press release but the press release doesn't say anything about the fish "turning" from prey to predator, it doesn't use the word "adaptations" and it doesn't imply that something new is going on. The scientists just made some observations about what is going on and reported it, they didn't make any comparisons to previous behavior of the fish.

Here is their article in Science, where the authors describe what they believe to be new behavior and use the word "adaptation."

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/329/5989/333