Fin Facts

Fish are quite fascinating! Check out these "fin" facts below to learn more about your aquatic friends.

Did you know some fish can make noise?!

            Sparkling Gouramis can make croaking or creaking noises to communicate with each other. Clown Loaches make clicking noises when they are happily eating. Many fish species are capable of producing small grunts, croaks, clicks and snaps – but sound travels much easier in water than in air. So you may have to listen very carefully in order to catch sounds coming from your aquarium fish. 

Fish are “Cold Blooded”.

            This means that in general they cannot create their own internal heat (the scientific term for animals like this is “poikilotherms”) and this is why we have to control the temperature of the aquarium. If we let them get too cold, they might try to hibernate and won’t have enough energy to fight off disease. If we keep them too warm, some fish get stuck in perpetual breeding behavior which can lead to chronic stress. Making sure your aquarium temperature is “just right” for your type of fish will assure that the fish are able to live happily and last a long time in their aquarium.

Slime is Good!

            Fish are covered with a thin layer of slime that protects them from disease and parasites. This is why we try to avoid handling them, to preserve this helpful slime! In fact, some fish have taken this to an extreme level. The Hagfish species have slime glands that will produce a specialized slime that quickly expands if it is attacked by predators. This allows the Hagfish to make a quick get-away as the predator is left trying to dislodge a whole mouthful of congealing slime. Gross! But – for the hagfish - Good!

Fins with Purpose.

            Different species of fish have differently shaped fins. The different shapes might make the fish speedier, more camouflaged, or might allow the fins to be used as a tool for special behaviors. Many types of goby fish have some of their fins arranged like a suction cup. Using these special fins, these gobies can climb up waterfalls that are hundreds of feet tall! Take a look at the fish in your aquarium and see if you can figure out why they have the fin shapes that they have – many fish will retain a lot of their natural behaviors in the aquarium if they are well cared for. 

On Target.

            Many fish can jump with extreme accuracy, because a lot of fish use this behavior to catch bugs to eat in the wild. One fish, the Archer Fish, took a different approach and is able to shoot a jet of water from its mouth from the water’s surface like a squirt gun. It can accurately hit bugs over six feet away from the surface of the water. The best part: in order to find out how far these fish could accurately fling water, scientists had to train some Archer Fish in a lab and motivate them to perform target practice (no fish were hurt during these trainings) 

This is just a small sampling of fish facts. Follow us on social media and read our other blog articles for more information and fun content!