Do fish communicate ?

[Philip]

Something I have wondered about allot.

Heres a story I recently heard on a video with Dave Lane about a couple of Carp he watched while up a tree....

He had his baits in a clear spot in some weed, this being an almost vertical hole down to the bottom in deep (12 foot) of water with very high weed all round. Two fish ambled into the swim, one went down the hole and started to feed right over his baits. The other however appeared hesitant and stayed up on top of the weed, Dave became convinced this fish had seen him. The fish then did a small jump…flopping out of the water with a splash. The other fish stayed out of sight down the hole. A short while later the hesitant fish did a second bigger jump, almost clearing the water & splashing down heavily. ….still the other fish stayed down the hole out of sight ..Dave expecting a run at any second. Finally, the hesitant fish did an almighty leap …clearing the water and Ba-dooshing down smacking its tail as it went…the Carp down the hole immediately sped out of the weed joined the other Carp, they touched flanks and sped out of the swim in unison.

It does make you think !

 

[no-one in particular]

Possible I suppose,they are a shoal fish and often shoal/herd animals have ways of communicating danger. Perhaps this was one. Does make you wonder whats really going on when you see carp leap, I have seen them doing this on some waters.

 

[markcw]

Roach and skimmers will turn on their sides when hooked giving off danger signals, that's why its imperative to get them out quickly and either feed as doing so or refeed as soon as ready to recast, to keep them interested. And why it's better to have two or three swims going, keep rotating swims and feed the ones not being used

 

[flightliner]

I'm convinced they communicate. I've often seen pike hanging motionless midwater with a shedload of bait fish swimming around them in seemingly total disregard to any potential danger. Then, some hidden differance in the pikes attitude puts the prey fish on alert as if they suddenly know the pike is a danger and in a flash the space around the pike is devoid of any prey.

 

[mikench]

Absolutely without a doubt.Just like humans, fish can also communicate with one another. The most common ways they achieve this are through sound, color, bioluminescence, motion, electrical impulses and smell. These forms of communication are usually used to help navigate, call for spawning, alert predators to keep away, and while fighting.

In my aquarium male fish colour up to attract a female. Killer whales along with most whales communicate over vast distances( sound travels very well in water) to locate prey fish and other pods.

Animals and birds also communicate and to each other to warn of predators, to attract a mate and to try and impress one. Watch Life of birds with David Attenborough and in particular the antics of birds of paradise.

I couldn't resist posting this.

YouTube

 

[no-one in particular]

I was wondering if carp leaping has anything to do with the water. I remember fishing a lake near Canterbury quite a lot. The carp would be leaping all day, usually out in the middle. It was a big shallow lake about 4/5 ft deep maximum and very weedy, I think it was called Griffen lake. Other various lakes I have fished, carp seem to leap but in other lakes the carp seem to hardly leap at all.

 

[mikench]

I understood carp leap to try and dislodge parasites.

 

[108831]

Carp also leap and roll when feeding,I also believe they would break surface to look at things above the water,they would know through instinct the surface film alters how things really are and what things are,fish no doubt give off signals to shoal mates of danger and feeding opportunities,anything more I would be doubtful,but exceptions always occur.

 

[sam vimes]

I have little doubt that fish communicate. I also suspect that, in certain circumstances, fish can be inquisitive in situations where conventional wisdom would suggest that they'd be spooked and wary.

 

[Philip]

I was wondering if carp leaping has anything to do with the water. I remember fishing a lake near Canterbury quite a lot. The carp would be leaping all day, usually out in the middle. It was a big shallow lake about 4/5 ft deep maximum and very weedy, I think it was called Griffen lake. Other various lakes I have fished, carp seem to leap but in other lakes the carp seem to hardly leap at all.

Its generally accepted that at least one of the reasons they leap is for cleaning purposes, so to rid themselves of lice & parasites or clean their gills if they have been troughing in the silt that sort of thing. Perhaps its as simple as some water just have less parasites than others so they dont need to jump as much.

It seems communication may be another reason they jump, I think breeding could play a part and perhaps sometimes its just as simple as play time. No one knows for sure so we can only speculate.

I have certainly seen groups of fish behaving in a way that they seem to be communicating although its not always clear cut as to whether its just a group reaction to something ...like a chain reaction or whether they are truly communicating as in passing on a message as such.

 

[Aknib]

I too have little doubt that fish communicate, in fact I would say it's a certainty albeit in a manner that we generally can't understand.

Spooking away of a shoal following the hooking of a fish is a form of communication as is the homing in by others on a feeding fish.

When it comes to nature I often think that we give ourselves far too much credit in the intelligence stakes, migratory birds don't need sat navs and such yet how would we, as the supposedly intelligent species, fare in the same circumstances?

We'd be hopeless.

 

[rayner]

Take skimmers, for example, if you just prick a fish and lose it in your swim it can kill your swim for a few hours. I think it speaks for its self, or the fish do.

 

[dorsetsteve]

I can tell you they do communicate , obviously they don’t talk or anything but they have mechanics that allow them to convey basic stuff, virtually all higher life forms do. We could be talking as simple as clicks and grunts, I’m sure you’ve all had a fish grunt on the bank. More subtle markers such as colour change or swimming action can alert others to danger or breeding.

 

[108831]

Plus releasing amino acids,or emitting electrical signals....

 

[nottskev]

Of course fish can talk. You must have heard it on the videos. The famous angler is saying "Let's get him back straightaway", and the fish can be plainly heard saying "Well shut up and do it, then".

 

[no-one in particular]

I too have little doubt that fish communicate, in fact I would say it's a certainty albeit in a manner that we generally can't understand.

Spooking away of a shoal following the hooking of a fish is a form of communication as is the homing in by others on a feeding fish.

When it comes to nature I often think that we give ourselves far too much credit in the intelligence stakes, migratory birds don't need sat navs and such yet how would we, as the supposedly intelligent species, fare in the same circumstances?

We'd be hopeless.

I watched a science program a little while ago on quantum physics. They have discovered robins use quantum physics in their brains to navigate. Don't ask me to explain it now though But, it is based on the idea that a quantum can be in two different places at the same time and robins use this in their brains. When you think humans haven't got enough brain power to keep 6ft apart, even when yellow lines are drawn on the pavement to help them; that's quite remarkable.

 

[Philip]

In the same way, is it Geese that use the earth magnetic field to navigate ? ..something like that anyway. I guess we have all had situations were a second fish follows a hooked one right up to the net. Is it just mimicing its movements ? ...or is there some sort of communucation going on ?

So many un-anwsered questions. I wonder as well wheteher how much it varies not just between species but between individual fish of the same species. Are some fish just more intelligent than others?

We all know stories of fish that avoid capture for example..is that just a function of perhaps the way it feeds or what it feed on ? ..or is there more to it and that fish is just more capable of knowing when its in danger and thus avoiding the sitiation & can it convey that message to its peers ?

Certainly the example Dave Lane recounts would suggest both are very possible. The first fish not only appeared to know that there was danger. It was also capable of conveying that message to its mate.

Its quite remarkable if you think about it.