Do fish fart?

[Hamilton Reef]

This is fishery education, right? :lol:

Do fish fart?

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 60363/1058

04/26/07 Ask Eric: Nick Dwyer, 10, Redford

Nick, your call posed the neatest question I've ever been asked in more than 40 years as a reporter!

And the answer is that while some fish do produce bubbles and sounds from their behinds, it depends on how you define flatulence.

When I was your age and went fishing with adults, I occasionally would see small streams of bubbles breaking the surface. When I asked the grownups what caused it, they invariably replied, "Fish farts."

Suspicious of their veracity, I have to admit that on occasion, when they weren't looking, I would get my nose down low over the water in an effort to confirm their claim, always without success.

However, my research showed that this question has intrigued scientists at the University of Maryland, University of British Columbia and other august institutions of learning.

Alas, the savants are split on the answer because the bubbles that a few fish species expel from their nether regions aren't the product of digestion or originate in the fishes' gut, as in mammals.

Herring in schools release bubbles from a special duct just inside the anus, making a squeak or buzz, and they may use the sound to confuse predators or communicate in the dark. Some commercial fishing boat skippers say that a massive burst of bubbles on the surface means that the school of herring they are trying to surround with a net has decided to go deep.

The sand tiger shark gulps air at the surface through its mouth to maintain buoyancy, then expels it through its rear when it wants to go deep. Once again, the gas isn't the product of digestion, but I like to think that perhaps this shark is evolving toward being the first jet-propelled species of its type.

In my 50 years as a scuba diver, I've often seen coral-eating parrotfish poop a cloud of sand into the water when they flee as something startles them (parrotfish digestions account for much of the white sand around coral reefs). But I've never seen the sand accompanied by bubbles.

[Larry Porter]

The dwarf gourami is the only fish I've ever seen fart, but I have observed it countless times. It usually follows a meal. A passage of fine bubbles will waft upward from the anus. Interestingly, the closely related blue gourami and its different-colored counterparts (gold and opaline gouramis) have not farted in my presence despite lengthy observations.

[Kingfisher]

Michelle and I whitnessed a huge Musky that surfaced in between three boats . This massive fish surfaced like submarine and took a gulp of air then passed a trail of bubbles from her anus as she dove. We took it as a polite way of her saying youve been tried measured and found wanting. This was on Lake Webster in 2006. It was almost like slap in the face or like getting mooned. Muskies that fart are saying kiss this to the anglers watching ha ha ha ha . Put it this way ,if you see a Musky fart ,you just got your picture taken (wink wink) Mike and Michelle

[queenfisher]

Too Funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Queenfisher

[john c]

I've seen young muskies do it (not the gulping) in my aquarium.