Interesting fish facts

Some interesting facts about fish:

• Fish have been on the earth for more than 450 million years.
• Fish were well established long before dinosaurs roamed the earth.
• There are over 25,000 identified species of fish on the earth.
• It is estimated that there may still be over 15,000 fish species that have not yet been identified.
• There are more species of fish than all the species of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals combined.
• 40% of all fish species inhabit fresh water, yet less than .01% of the earth's water is fresh water.
• The spotted climbing perch is able to absorb oxygen from the air and will crawl overland using its strong pectoral fins.
• Some fish like sharks don't posses an air bladder to help keep them afloat and must either swim continually or rest on the bottom.
• Some fish make sounds by grating their teeth and others like some catfish make sounds from their air filled swim bladder.
• Some species of fish can fly (glide) others can skip along the surface and others can even climb rock.
• Fish have a specialized sense organ called the lateral line which works much like radar and helps them navigate in dark or murky water.
• The largest fish is the great whale shark which can reach fifty feet in length.
• The smallest fish is the Philippine goby that is less than 1/3 of an inch when fully grown.
• Some species of fish have skeletons made only of cartilage.
• Fish have excellent senses of sight, touch, taste and many possess a good sense of smell and 'hearing'.
• Fish feel pain and suffer stress just like mammals and birds.
• Tropical fish are one of the most popular pets in the U.S.
• 95% of tropical fish mortality results from improper housing and nutrition.
• Many tropical fish sold in the United States are harvested from the wild in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America.

Cool. Those are interesting facts!

I was also reading an article about fish possessing fairly complex social structures and incredibly good memories rivaling "higher" vertebrates like primates and birds. I'll see if I can find it.

Im sure that is more so with some species over others. Look at goldfish vs salmon for example.

I had no idea about this fact:
# Tropical fish are one of the most popular pets in the U.S.

And have no doubt of this:
# 95% of tropical fish mortality results from improper housing and nutrition.

Good info there skinz, I learned something.

I've been in this hobby for almost 10 years now and a few of those I didn't know either.

Fun and interesting facts...many I wasn't even aware of...or thought about for that matter...maybe we could include this as a regular topic for our future magazine? Just means we'll need new facts contributed each time.

more species of fish are in decline or serious danger of extinction than any other animal. don't remember where i read that one

this is a great start! we plan on developing a much bigger list as a reference for all........anyone have any other facts they want to contribute?

Goldfish and the Common carp are the only two known vertebrates that can go for months without any oxygen. In addition, of all the animals that can undergoe anaerobic conditions, goldfish and the common carp are the only ones which retain full brain function and motility. Because of the internal metabolism that allows for this, without going into painful detail, it has the secondary effect of making it virtually impossible for goldfish or common carp to get drunk or recieve alcohol poisoning.


Goldfish are amazing animals, they are severly underappreciated.

very cool info spiny! ......and they are underappreciated but I think a lot of that is ignorance too....