Can Goldfish Hear Sound? (It’s A Surprise)

As a goldfish owner, you may wonder if your goldfish can hear sounds. You must have discovered your goldfish responding when you tap on the aquarium’s glass. But can they listen to you? Can your goldfish hear the sound? Let us discuss this below:

Goldfish can hear sound with the help of the inner ear and lateral line. The inner ear responds when it comes in contact with sound waves or vibrations, and the lateral line helps determine the sound direction. However, excessive noises near the goldfish aquarium can cause harm to the fish.

Let us dive into the article to learn more about goldfish’s hearing ability.

How does your goldfish hear the sound?

Likewise, humans and goldfish do not have an outer ear to hear sounds. So, they have two ways of hearing the sound:

Inner ear

The inner ear is inside your goldfish head and responds when it comes in contact with any vibrations or sound waves in the water.

The fish interpret the sound when the sensory cells inside their inner ear get displaced due to bone movements. 

Lateral line

The lateral line helps to detect the vibrations and movements in the water. It runs on both sides of your goldfish body.

It detects movement through the cells along the lateral line and helps your goldfish hear the sound and find out the direction. 

In this way, your goldfish hears the sound and determines the direction of the sound. But can too much noise cause harm to your goldfish? Let us discuss this below: 

Can excessive noise cause harm to goldfish?

Loud noises can cause severe damage to your goldfish ear. We want you to know that goldfish are sensitive in the water, and making loud noise near your goldfish tank can cause vibrations and startle your fish.

In addition, making noises can also lead to stress and many other severe health issues in your goldfish.

You should also never tap on the side of your goldfish tank as it can cause strong vibrations and stress your goldfish.

Therefore, it would be advisable not to make noises near the aquarium or tap on the side of your goldfish tank so that they can stay healthy.

Also read: Are My Goldfish Stressed?

Can Goldfish recognize the sound direction?

Your goldfish can recognize the sound direction. Goldfish uses its lateral line to determine the sound direction. We want you to know that the inner ear has no role in determining the sound direction.

It is advisable not to make too loud noises near your goldfish tank as it can cause stress and many other severe health issues in your goldfish.

Can goldfish hear music?

Goldfish can hear and also differentiate between musical genres. We want you to know that the Japanese scientist experimented to see if goldfish could listen to music.

In the experiment, the scientist divided the goldfish into two groups and prepared the first group of goldfish to bite a food-filled ball when bachs music was on. The second group did the same but with Stravinsky music.

After the training, the fish were placed back together, and the scientist played both pieces of music again to see which goldfish would bite on the bead for food.

The first group of goldfish was looking for food when they played a piece of bach music. On the other hand, the second group of goldfish was looking for food when they played a piece of Stravinsky.

Thus, the scientists concluded that goldfish could differ between music.

Now that your goldfish can hear music, it will be advisable not to make too loud noises near your goldfish tank as it can cause severe harm to your goldfish.

Do goldfish communicate with their tankmates?

Likewise, human goldfish cannot talk to each other, so they communicate through their body language. They create noises like chirps, grunts, and pops.

Goldfish use their sensory organs and eyes to interpret what their tankmates are trying to convey.

According to Shariman Ghazali, a marine scientist at the University of Auckland, discovered that cod species prefer to remain silent, whereas gurnard species have a huge vocal repertoire.

According to him, most species can hear but do not produce sound. He also stated that goldfish have good hearing abilities but can not produce sound.

Does goldfish hear the sounds caused by aquarium equipment?

Goldfish can hear the sounds caused by the filters and aerators in the tank. In addition, with the help of their lateral line, goldfish can sense the vibration caused by the filters and aerators in the water.

We want you to know that filters create high noise output underneath the water that your goldfish can easily hear.

Can goldfish recognize their owners?

Even though goldfish do not have a sharp memory like dogs and cats, they can easily recognize their owners. You must have noticed your goldfish coming upwards whenever you go near the tank.

It is their way of greeting their owners. According to studies, goldfish may have the ability to recognize a familiar face out of more than 40 human faces.

Conclusion:

• Goldfish can hear the sound with the help of the inner ear and lateral line located inside their head.
• The inner ear responds when it comes in contact with sound waves or any vibrations in the water, whereas the lateral line helps detect the vibration and sound waves.
• Excessive noise near the goldfish tank can cause severe damage to the fish.
• Goldfish communicate with their tankmates by creating chirps, grunts, and pops.
• With the help of the lateral lines, goldfish can detect the sound of filters and aerators in the water.

Related Questions:

Do Goldfish require filters in their tank?

Goldfish need a filter in their tank as it purifies the water and eliminates all the toxins from your goldfish aquarium. You must keep your goldfish in a well-filtered tank as goldfish are messy fish and produce lots of waste.

In addition, contaminated water can cause severe damage to your goldfish. So, it is advisable to place your goldfish in a well-filtered tank so that they can stay healthy.

Why are goldfish chasing each other?

Goldfish can chase each other for many reasons, like stress and coupling, or they might compete for food. If you discover your goldfish biting or nipping fins, you must immediately separate them as they can cause severe damage to each other.

It would be advisable to separate the weak or the robust ones by shifting them to a new tank in such a case.

Reference: NCBI, ResearchGate