fish facts All fish share two traits: they live in water and they have a backbone—they are vertebrates. Apart from these similarities, however, many of the species
10 Fun Facts About Fish. The amazing Spotted Climbing Perch is able to ‘gulp’ oxygen from the air and can crawl over land using its strong pectoral fins in search of water. Did you know, American Lobsters have longer life spans than both cats and dogs, living over 20 years. Catfish have over 27,000 taste buds, whereas
Fish Facts. Here is a list of fun facts about fish: • Fish have been on the earth for more than 450 million years, whereas mammals have only been
5 Most Interesting Facts In The World About Fish That Will Shock You
Not many people know about fish, how they live and how different they are from us. People rarely discover them since these creatures look mysterious. Some people even call them aliens. However, these little species are incredible. There are very different compared with other animals, therefore, there are many interesting facts to discover about them. Fish are called vertebrate animals and their main distinction is gills. They have slime on their scales which helps them to quickly glide through the water. They also have friends and they lay eggs.
There are 30,000 kinds of fish that all have different colors, shapes, and sizes. Some fish, especially those that live very deep in seas and oceans look fascinating. Northpolevoyages They are so different to those fish that everyone can see or buy in shops. What is interesting, that all fish have only two similarities: they live in water and they have a backbone. There is a huge number of differences that make fish unique. They are very diverse and it’s because 70% of our planet is covered with water. Apart from living in deep oceans, seas, rivers and lakes fish are also found in mountain streams.
There are fish that eat plants but there are kinds that eat meat only including other fish, crabs, krill, squids, and octopus. Fish have incredible capabilities. For example, they can camouflage or blend in with the environment in order to protect themselves from predators.
There are many incredible facts about fish that you don’t know about or never heard about even at school. Many people believe that fish are almost numb but it’s so not true. Fish have been found to differentiate music, colors, and react to light. They have been found affectionate and friendly. Some fish owners believe that their fish watch TV with them and like to be stroked. There are many fascinating facts about these creatures. If you want to learn more about them, keep reading the article.
5 Amazing Facts About Fish
You have probably seen programs like Our Planet where they tell how unique and beautiful our planet is. You may have seen incredible fish that live deep in oceans. If you are interested to learn more about fish, then this article will reveal the most shocking facts about these animals. Let’s begin!
Fish have feelings
You must be very surprised to learn that fish have feelings. Many people underestimate these animals thinking that only cats and dogs can sense their owners’ moods and feel compassion. We misjudge these animals by not being able to read their emotions. They don’t cry or have a sad expression but they have the capacity to suffer. Scientists have discovered that fish experience fear, joy, and relaxation.
They have receptors to feel pain. They experience stress and they try to avoid scary events like being trapped or hurt. Fish experience an incredible amount of pain and stress when being caught by a metal hook. Some interesting research says that if the fish was lucky to escape, it will unlikely be caught again. This proves that fish do experience fear and try to avoid frightening things. Unfortunately, fish don’t show any expressions, so it’s difficult to understand when they feel joy, when they experience fear or when they are truly happy but now you know that they are as sensitive as you are.
Another interesting observation is that fish are playful and often us different objects in aquariums as toys. Those fish that live in aquariums experience boredom, so they can be often spotted riding water pumps. It all proves that fish just like us have feelings, can sense fear, and have the capacity to protect themselves from harm.
It’s important to know that fish emotional state depends on their environment. Portuguese researchers discovered that fish emotional state is triggered by the environment. They kept fish in a favorable and adverse environment and after checked their cortisol level which is a stress hormone. Their research proved that fish trigger physiological and neuromuscular responses in the central nervous system depending on the environment. Briefly, fish do feel good and bad.
So now we have scientific proof that fish have emotions and it’s up to us to care for them. As you can see now they are not so alien as you used to think of them. If you couldn’t relate to these animals before, maybe now you will change your attitude to them.
It’s impossible for a human to understand whether fish experience joy or fear since they can’t express it verbally, they can’t use gestures or even use mimic. But it doesn’t mean that they can’t sense and feel.
Fish are incapable of blinking
Many people don’t like fish only because they look alien. Apart from having gills and fins that no other animals have, there is one interesting thing about their anatomy that makes them unique animals. Fish don’t have eyelids, therefore, they are incapable of blinking. By learning this fact, you may wonder how to understand when fish sleep if their eyes are so wide open.
Let’s start with the fact that fish do sleep and they can go in relaxed “mode”. There is no evidence of fish sleeping if you don’t watch them for a long time. There is only one evidence that points that fish sleep: they float slowly or hit corals and rocks.
There is only one exception: shark can blink. It’s the only one fish that can blink with both eyes. However, even sharks don’t have eyelids. They have membranes move, so it looks like sharks blink. Shark eyelids or membranes serve them to protect their eyes when attacking prey. They protect their ours when hitting their prey and biting it. Great White Sharks don’t have such membranes for protecting their eyes, therefore, they roll their pupils back in their heads.
Fish are born in water and they die in water unless they get caught. Even though, when they get caught and left to die in the air, they don’t close their eyes. Kids often ask how water doesn’t get in fish eyes. It’s a funny question for adults but if you start thinking about whether they feel the water in their eyes, you may want to research this topic. Fish have membranes, they are thick and round. Humans have thin and flat membranes, therefore, when we go under the water and open our eyes, things look blurry.
For example, there is a fish called Swordfish that have eyeballs of the size of softballs. They have such huge eyes because they hunt squids and dive up to 700 feet to find them. Swordfish also have unique muscles in their eyes which allows them to see warm objects in the cold water. such an advantage allows them to follow and catch their prey more successfully than other fish.
Another amazing fact about fish is that they have perfect vision.
Fish are affectionate
Can you believe that fish have friends and like to show off? Not many believe this fact. However, if we take into consideration the previous fact that tells about fish having feelings, it won’t be a big surprise. Fish have friends and they remember other fish. They recognize other individuals that they live close by, so they are capable to build relationships. Fish can change behavior accordingly to a company of other fish they meet in the water.
Fish make friends and treat other fish with love. You can watch two fish gliding through the water for hours touching each other with their fins and mouths. You can watch two fish kissing too. It seems like fish always nurture each other. It’s an amazing experience to watch them and see how they interact with each other. Just like humans talk to each other or birds sing, fish make chirping and foghorn sounds.
One of the researches proves that some kinds of fish like to be touched by humans. It’s another interesting fact since most people think that fish don’t like to be touched and get scared when humans coming into the water. However, one really interesting study proved that fish are affectionate. Some researchers created a stressful environment for fish and after placing them into the aquarium with a mechanized wand that stroked fish bodies. It appeared that those fish that experienced stress, spent more time being stroked by the wand compared with those fish that haven’t been tested.
Fish have a good memory
Some people say and make jokes saying “You have goldfish memory” which means to forget things quickly. Most jokes are about goldfish that can retain information for only three seconds. Therefore, people often say that fish are the polar opposite of elephants. To many people’s surprise, the number of studies proves that fish can remember information for months or even years. Some study shows that goldfish can remember information for up to 5 months which is incredible for such small animals. It would be useful for fish owners to know this fact since they will chance attitude to those little, colorful, and beautiful spices that live in their homes.
Do you want some more evidence that fish have a good memory? Well, fish can be trained to respond to colors, light, and sounds. Some researchers have taught fish to play soccer, fetch, and do the limbo. Another shocking example of fish having a good memory is that salmon remembers their birthplace. Even after a few years after birth and leaving their nests, they can find the way home. It’s exciting to learn that on the way home, they will fight predators and go through strong currents.
A fish called African Cichlid has the longest memory. Researchers of MacEwan University in Canada found that this fish can remember the location of a food source after a 12-day gap. Researchers believe that this kind of fish has a great advantage over other fish because it has better chances to survive. If there is a lack of food, this fish can go to the source of food and have the energy to avoid predators.
Another interesting research proves that fish do have a good memory. In the study, fish were trained to find food in the aquarium. The training lasted for 3 days, 20 minutes each day. After that, the training was stopped for 12 days, and then fish were reintroduced to the aquarium where they were trained. The results were the following: trained fish were looking for food where they were last fed 12 days ago. Isn’t it amazing?
An Australian 15-year old student also did an experiment with his pet fish testing its memory. For three weeks in the row, the boy was placing a red Lego block in the tank whenever he fed his goldfish. After three weeks, his little pet was approaching the block waiting for food before the block hit the bottom of the tank. The time during which fish approached the block went from a minute to 5 seconds within three weeks. The second part of the experiment included feeding the fish without placing the Lego block into the tank. The student did it for 6 days consecutively. When he placed the block into the tank on the seventh day, the goldfish rushed to it in just 4 seconds.
So, it’s only a modern myth that tells: goldfish have three-second-memory. They are much more clever than we think. People rarely study fish. The owners of fish like them for their look and the fact that they don’t make loud sounds of break things like cats and dogs do. However, fish are amazing creatures that deserve to be studied and appreciated.
Fish sense activity with lateral lines
What is a lateral line and where do fish have it? All fish have lateral lines that go across the length of their bodies. Lateral lines or as scientists call it “sixth sense” help fish to feel the motion of water, pressure, and vibration. Some spices can sense electric currents with the help of lateral lines.
As you could have learned from the article, there are different kinds of fish. There are fish that eat only plants, and there are such kinds that hunt other fish. Those fish that eat meat, use their lateral lines to focus on prey, while prey relies on their “sixth sense” to avoid predators. They also use their lateral lines to join groups of fish and migrate.
The lateral line is a tactical sense organ which is very important for fish. The line starts from the head and goes across both sides of the fish bodies. The lines are situated right under their skin and make fish unique creates. It’s also interesting to learn that lateral lines are filled with fluid. Apart from feeling pressure, vibration, and movement in the water, fish can sense their prey and predators with the help of these sense organs.
Fish can have lateral line disease. To understand whether your fish has the disease, it’s important to check on your fish body from time to time and spot changes. Lateral line disease appears as open pitted wounds around a fish’s head and along the lateral line. The disease doesn’t lead to fatality if treated shortly, however, it can spread and harm the fish. In this case, the fish doesn’t eat and eventually dies. It’s important to look after fish and check on its health frequently. Open wounds can lead to infections and harm fish health.
To treat it, the owners of fish should feed them foods soaked in Selcon, Zoe, and other liquid vitamins. It’s also recommended to feed them with broccoli supplements, peas, and other prepared foods.
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Conclusion
Fish are beautiful, playful and they are very clever. These 5 shocking facts prove how intelligent these spices are and what great capacities they have. They are not just some animals that glide through the water looking for food all day long. As you could have learned, they have a social life even though it may sound funny. They have a good memory which was proven by scientists. What is more impressive that they are not so different from us: they feel pain and joy. They like to play and they get scared. All these facts must change people’s opinion about fish and treat them with love and respect. It’s really incredible that nature gave life to such beautiful creatures.
It’s is so important to save the sea world with those different and fascinating species living there. Unfortunately, pollution and overfishing render the population of fish, therefore, the human should consider looking after the planet and reduce fishing. Now you know how clever, intelligent, and sensitive fish are. Your perception of fish must have changed while reading this article. Fish deserve as much attention as other animals, therefore, we should care more and protect those beautiful creatures from harm, lack of food, and save their homes which are oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, and streams.
Bio
Cheryl Hearts is a writer and journalist from Boston, Massachusetts. Her passion for writing started at an early age and evolved during the high school years. She enjoyed creating her own stories, so she decided to make writing her career. After earning a degree in Journalism, Cheryl started running her own blog CherylHearts.com where she’s covering topics of great interest to society.
What can a fish do?
Fish use their mouths for many things that people do with their hands: collecting food, building homes, and taking care of their babies.The larger fish will also let the cleaner fish swim into their mouths and eat food particles stuck in their teeth. Fish have been around for more than 480 million years