Why do fish roll?

[Steve Spiller]

Does it serve a purpose to them? Or are they just playing?

I've watched the koi in my pond doing it, during a large summer flood the bream, chub and roach started doing it and on the lake yesterday the carp were doing it all over the place, I've been told that barbel do it too.

So what are they up to and why?

 

[Paul H]

Cos it's cheaper than a pack of 20 fags...?

Sorry Steve, I actually have no idea of the truth of it.

I have heard people say that it could help them remove parasites somehow, or that they're taking small insects from off, or near, the suface.

 

[geoffmaynard]

I can't hold with the idea that they are 'playing'. To do so would accept the concept that fish experience pleasure - and if they can do that, then they can experience the opposite

So I think there's other reasons, and they will probably be different for different species and various times of year. Mating rituals, feeding or cleansing routines, stuff like that. Definitely NOT pleasure though.

 

[richiekelly]

i think that when i am carp fishing its so they can see if i am there and then clear off up the other end of the lake,perhaps they are taking something from the surface.

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

I don't know if anyone knows the real reason Steve, it has nothing to do with spawning as I have seen fish doing this in October, maybe they do it when moving around trying to find food.

I have seen Barbel with their heads out the water feeding just like carp on the surface, this was late at night on the Ouse. When at Blenhiem one morning the mist was on the surface, as we were rowing the boat out, the Bream were more like Dolphins.

They moved all the way acroos the lake, they didn't do any tricks before you ask, only the you can't catch me one.

The Tench on a local water roll in he morning, during the day, and at night, but not all the time, so there doesn't seem to be a pattern.

 

[Steve Spiller]

Hmmm?

The carp were going bonkers yesterday, 20lb+ fish were doing the big side sploosh. Some got almost completely airborne.

The koi in my pond seem to stir up the bottom as they accelerate and do the sploosh, but this would not explain the tench I've seen doing it in Cheddar res' with over 20+ foot of water?

I don't think it's a food thing, could it be an oxygen rush into the gills?

It could be the parasite thing Paul, but the differing situations on different venues don't add up that? The summer flood that I mentioned was incredible and I will never forget it. The river was low and had been for a while, the heavens opened and the river started rising. It was like someone flicked a switch, big fish started showing all over the river, it must have been due to the added oxygen?

 

[Mark Wintle]

Big roach do it to see who is on the bank; if you're not worthy they clear off.

 

[heathbryant45]

lol lol lol

 

[slime monster]

I think swim bladder adjustment has a lot to do with it, a trail of bubbles often follows after a fish has rolled .

 

[Paul H]

I just found this while using a well known search engine:

Gold fish are able to gulp air directly in to their gills, mostly to get extra oxygen. But if your goldfish is doing this frequently, set up an air stone, bubble stone, or strong filter that won't suck in your fish. Fish use this in emergencies, when little air is in the water. If a fish is in one of those classic, round bowls, with a tiny surface, fish get less, and less, and less air, until they start to suffocate, slowly. Small round bowls say "death" all over them.

And this from an aquarium advice site:

Fish Gulping Response - Thanks for your question. Here are some helpful links that provide the information you are looking for. There can be several reasons a fish gulps air. Most fish can be seen gulping air when their water quality is very poor and does not provide enough oxygen. Some fish have an organ called a labyrinth (such as the Gouramis and Bettas) which can be used in addition to their gills when there is a lack of oxygen and it is used to process the air similar to a lung. A fish with a labyrinth can be seen gulping air. Some fish gulp air to fill their air bladders used for buoyancy. The temperature of the water also plays a role in the overall water quality.​

 

[The Scarlet Maggot]

Big roach do it to see who is on the bank; if you're not worthy they clear off.

Splendid!!

 

[dezza]

I am sure that a lot of rolling done by many species of fish is an attempt to rid themselves of lice (Argulus). Trout do this regularly, especially in summer when they can often be seen jumping clear of the waters surface. Catching trout covered with lice is becoming more and more common.

Other species of fish also have lice, which are a major irritant. Often a fish, in clear water, be seen rubbing themselves along the bottom. This is what often causes bubbles.

 

[jcp01]

There can be no doubt that the noise (actually the vibrations fish sense as 'sound') created by fish rolling, cavorting, jumping clear and generally appearing to have a good time, attracts the attention of other fish.

On the canal at the moment the bream are gathering in certain areas and some are taking the chance on an early head start by starting to spawn. They make a lot of commotion and the area becomes packed with fish of all cyprinid species, not just bream.

On a local lake I often fish I have taken my dog along and allowed her to jump in and out of the water all day long and the commotion she makes attracts tench and carp, who are quite catchable, I swear.

Social fish have only one way to communicate at distance and that is by making a racket. I think it is a means of communication and nothing more.

 

[Poshpaul (Angling Trust and PaSC)]

When at Blenhiem one morning the mist was on the surface, as we were rowing the boat out, the Bream were more like Dolphins. They moved all the way acroos the lake, they didn't do any tricks before you ask, only the you can't catch me one.

You never told us that before we signed up last year Mr. Clarke!!!!:wh

 

[the indifferent crucian]

I am sure that a lot of rolling done by many species of fish is an attempt to rid themselves of lice (Argulus). Trout do this regularly, especially in summer when they can often be seen jumping clear of the waters surface. Catching trout covered with lice is becoming more and more common.

Other species of fish also have lice, which are a major irritant. Often a fish, in clear water, be seen rubbing themselves along the bottom. This is what often causes bubbles.

I had thought that too, Ron. But a local pond with 2-3lb. wildies in it was infested with them in 2008. Easily 200 Argulus lice on every fish, yet they only rolled at night ( A pal lives next to the pond, he could fish from his bedroom window)
They didn't roll any more or less than other years,...and the first cold night the lice dropped off them, but the fish still rolled until the frosts came a month or so later.

Now I just don't know what to suggest as a reason for it all.

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

You never told us that before we signed up last year Mr. Clarke!!!!:wh

No I didn't Posh and for a good reason, I knew we would catch fish, which we did, well some of us did.............:wh

 

[Colin North the one and only]

It is a bit of an odd question really. Why do you walk down the street or sit down on a chair. Does a creature have to have a reason for doing anything. All the non joke responses are complete speculation because no-one knows why fish roll. They just do.

 

[jcp01]

It is a bit of an odd question really. Why do you walk down the street or sit down on a chair. Does a creature have to have a reason for doing anything. All the non joke responses are complete speculation because no-one knows why fish roll. They just do.

Absolutely. Great ain't it when you can just say whatever you please and be just as right as anyone else...

So long as they don't learn how to rock.

 

[Steve Spiller]

I thought it was a good question Colin, does it serve a purpose to the fish? But you're right, no ones knows why they do it.

 

[r1paul]

I thought it was a good question Colin, does it serve a purpose to the fish? But you're right, no ones knows why they do it.

It is a good question Steve , I would go for the oxygen theory myself , but without trying to be glib , I am surprised that nobody can answer this question with certainty .