Can Fish Hear Us Talk To Them?

by **dizzcat** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 6:37 pm

OK, here's one for you all.

My son insists that my fish cannot hear me when I talk to them! He says "They can't hear you, you know". He may think I am nuts LOL

I have 3 tanks, one with African Cichlids, a community tank and a tank with 16 yellow lab fry (released 4 days ago!) with mama still in with them. I always stop by each tank a couple times a day and say hello to my fish! They all have names too. How can you NOT name them?! I will say something like "How's it going guys?" "Hi Lemmey!" Etc. They always get excited and come up to me as if to say hi back. :-)

So, can your fish hear you when you talk to them?? I say YES!

by **Peterkarig3210** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 6:47 pm

Strangly enough they do seem to hear, but i think they are just sensitive to the movements your mouth makes and also your eyes. By making mouthing movements it makes them think you are more of a friend and not a predator I believe.

by **Snowboss4492** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:10 pm

i can't say if they hear us or not , but they know who is feeding them and who is just looking into the tank..............my clowns all have names, MO, AMELIA, and IAN and of course the tankmaster SABASTIAN the anemone hermit - - the clowns will follow my fingar and Sabastian likes to watch TV at night - - its funny as hell, and i've even turned the tv off to see what he does, after a few minutes he just walks away ..............so inteligent? definately, can they hear us? not sure, but it wouldn't suprise me at all

Boss

by **dizzcat** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:28 pm

Watches TV? thats too funny!

You know, even if they can't hear, I cannot help myself, I HAVE to talk to them LOL

by **Snowboss4492** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:58 pm

oh hell yeah - - -come home after a bad day, grab an ice cold diet dew and you'll find me parked in front of the tank talking to the crab

must be the colors and light from the screen that keeps his attention - - it is funny as hell to look over and see him standing right up against the glass almost in the corner faceing the tv - - I'm getting rid of him if i come home and the remote is in the tank .............lol

Boss

by **Zambize4899** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 3:05 am

Of course fish can hear! It's obvious in their fear response in reaction to an unexpected sound. Species vary, but in general they have ear structure similar to most vertebrates....including mammals. Some University of Maryland professor proved that loud noises can irreversibly damage their hearing.

I've heard Peter's theory on "mouthing" to fish as a friendly gesture. LOL I'm not so sure though.....a friendly gesture among some fish is to show submission, like tilting to one side. It seems to me that most aggression among fish is shown through the mouth with nipping or biting....or making the other fish a tasty dinner. Just me thinking.....

Zambize

by **snowboss** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 3:09 pm

so my smallest clown swimming on his/her side and kind of "convulsing" is a sign of submission to the larger two?? interesting - - i think it's called "posturing"? i thought it was more of "how you doin" type display {said in joey tribiani, from friends voice}

Boss

by **Peterkarig3210** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:38 am

I do show signs of sumission like tipping my head and opening and closing my mouth in a non-threatning way. If I were to hold my mouth closed and come up on the tank slowely I think that may be like I were stalking them. I wave my head from side to side too.

by **tangerine** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 12:53 pm

i do hope so,else me look silly talking to them nightly. :P

by **dizzcat** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 6:22 pm

LOL Tangerine! This is sooo true!

I did not realize how much I actually talk to them until my son came home for an extended visit. I guess I do a LOT, so I must look REALLY silly!

Can Fish Hear Us Talk To Them?

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