A home aquarium seems a peaceful place. Gazing at its inhabitants as they swim slowly through their small universe is a soothing, even hypnotic, experience. But this seeming tranquillity is only surface deep. Like their wild counterparts, these tiny, glittering beings exhibit a wide array of fascinating behaviors.Stéphan Reebs provides a delightfully entertaining, yet scientifically grounded, look at what fishes do and how they do it. From defending their young, to seeking out the perfect sexual partner, to telling time, fishes display a variety of behaviors that may not be readily apparent to the casual observer. Reebs not only describes the behaviors, but also outlines simple experiments that can be performed by observers wishing to learn for themselves just how resourceful—and bizarre—these creatures can be.How Fish Behave introduces us to damselfishes that sing like birds, elephantfishes that communicate electrically, and sticklebacks that deceive other fish into believing they have found food. Drawing on the experimental evidence behind such intrinsically interesting responses, Reebs demonstrates how science is conducted in the field of animal behavior.

From defending their young, to seeking out the perfect sexual partner, to telling time, fishes display a variety of behaviors that may not be readily apparent to the casual observer.

A bowl, some water, and a couple of fish flakes, that's all it takes to raise a fish, right? Not quite. Readers of this thorough guide will learn how to keep their scaly friends happy and healthy, and what to do if their fish gets sick. They'll learn about different breeds of fishes and figure out which one is a good fit for their home and lifestyle. They'll also learn about fish behavior, both in the wild and in the tank. Full-color photographs and stories about famous and newsworthy fish will amaze even reluctant readers. Pet owners and nature lovers alike will be eager to dive into this fantastic guide to owning fish.

An overview of what is presently known about the behavior and ecology of reef fishes in the thaters of Florida, the Caribbean, and the Bahamas.

Ecological and evolutionary context shape both cognitive capacity and behavioral responses in fish, as discussed in Chapter 1. That context provides a strong framework to make predictions about the needs and preferences of individuals. Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT provide an excellent example of this assertion in action in Chapter 2. Cod are a highly adaptable, behaviorally flexible species accustomed to a highly variable habitat. While the exhibit has in-tank habitat enrichment, it remained relatively unchanged since its creation in 2009. As a result, the main feature of the fish's environment that changes is the presence or absence of aquarium visitors at the exhibit windows. Approximately one third of the cod in the exhibit have cataracts associated with aging or injury before being brought into the aquarium. Using visitor presence as the primary variable, we compared the behavior of sighted cod, and cod with cataracts in response to presence or absence of visitors at the window. Fish with cataracts showed no significant differences in behavior when visitors were present. By contrast, fish without cataracts spent significantly more time in front of the window and had more nonlinear swimming patterns when visitors were present, and showed no significant differences from the cataract fish when visitors were absent. Thus, using ecological context to drive a hypothesis about novelty-seeking behavior when fish were moved from a high-variability (wild) to low-variability (captive) environment was highly successful. Anthropogenic habitat change, in particular climate change, is an area where rapid change in context is the defining feature. Atmospheric CO2 exceeds the natural range seen in the last 650,000 years. Since the Industrial Revolution, average ocean pH has already dropped over 0.1 units in the process known as ocean acidification; a direct product of elevating atmospheric CO2. Understanding how and on what scale these changes will affect fish is crucial to any management and mitigation effort. However, despite critical consensus that context is the key to understand the impacts of climate change on the environment, crucial variables are often overlooked. Chapter 3 provides an analysis of the history of research into the behavioral response of fish to ocean acidification. While that history has been complicated with findings of fraud and highly contentious dialogue in the field, the overarching theme is a strong need to contextualize experimental design and consider the impact of frequently overlooked confounding variables. In Chapter 4, we observed the behavioral response of the Lemon Damselfish (Pomacentrus moluccensis) to stepwise, slowly increasing levels of CO2 over a 53-day period. Three trials were conducted: mirror aggression, coral shelter use, and response to a novel object. While an acclimation effect to elevated CO2 was not observed, we found an intersecting relationship between time in captivity, size of fish, and CO2 such that large and small fish frequently showed opposite patterns both to each other and in response to CO2 and time in captivity. Due to these intersecting effects, under the currently most commonly utilized experimental conditions of short time in captivity, high CO2 and without controlling for size of fish, the majority of significant effects found in response to CO2 would be erased. Overall, the magnitude of effects were smaller than many of those previously published, but nonetheless significant. A strong signal of individual laterality in response to a mirror image was found which was robust to CO2, time in captivity and size of fish. The model developed for activity in the Coral Shelter trial was used to replicate experimental conditions described in Clark et al (2020) and the results were highly comparable. Elucidating the impacts of time in captivity and size of fish therefore lend important insight into the highly variable results seen in the literature to date. This study, though it only examined one species, clearly demonstrated the importance of tracking and controlling for factors such as time in captivity and size of fish when examining behavioral response to a changing habitat. Small differences in responses between different contexts can result in dramatically different effects when applied to experimental extremities such as water acidification levels predicted to occur in 100 years. It will only be with careful examination of context-based evidence that we will successfully predict and manage for the changing conditions to come.

A New York Times Bestseller Do fishes think? Do they really have three-second memories? And can they recognize the humans who peer back at them from above the surface of the water? In What a Fish Knows, the myth-busting ethologist Jonathan Balcombe addresses these questions and more, taking us under the sea, through streams and estuaries, and to the other side of the aquarium glass to reveal the surprising capabilities of fishes. Although there are more than thirty thousand species of fish—more than all mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians combined—we rarely consider how individual fishes think, feel, and behave. Balcombe upends our assumptions about fishes, portraying them not as unfeeling, dead-eyed feeding machines but as sentient, aware, social, and even Machiavellian—in other words, much like us. What a Fish Knows draws on the latest science to present a fresh look at these remarkable creatures in all their breathtaking diversity and beauty. Fishes conduct elaborate courtship rituals and develop lifelong bonds with shoalmates. They also plan, hunt cooperatively, use tools, curry favor, deceive one another, and punish wrongdoers. We may imagine that fishes lead simple, fleeting lives—a mode of existence that boils down to a place on the food chain, rote spawning, and lots of aimless swimming. But, as Balcombe demonstrates, the truth is far richer and more complex, worthy of the grandest social novel. Highlighting breakthrough discoveries from fish enthusiasts and scientists around the world and pondering his own encounters with fishes, Balcombe examines the fascinating means by which fishes gain knowledge of the places they inhabit, from shallow tide pools to the deepest reaches of the ocean. Teeming with insights and exciting discoveries, What a Fish Knows offers a thoughtful appraisal of our relationships with fishes and inspires us to take a more enlightened view of the planet’s increasingly imperiled marine life. What a Fish Knows will forever change how we see our aquatic cousins—the pet goldfish included.

For beginning aquatic fancier looking to start out right with fish, Freshwater Aquariums by David Alderton is the ideal primer. A vertebrate that breathe primarily by means of gills and swim by means of fins is the author’s lead-in to the first chapter called “What are Fish?” Alderton builds the reader’s confidence by providing solid information about what fish are anatomically speaking, how they evolved, how they breathe, how they move, where they live, and how they behave. The new fancier’s aquarium begins in chapter two with instructions on setting up the tank, including selecting the right size, figuring out how many fish, setting the tank, equipment, substrate, heating, lighting, filtrations, plants, water chemistry, assembly, and more. Choosing the freshwater fishes that appeal to the reader is the subject of “Introducing the Categories of Fish,” which schools readers in seven categories: Cyprinids (e.g., goldfish, minnows, and barbs), Characins (e.g., tetras), Cichlids (e.g., oscars, angelfish, and discus), Anabantoids (gouramis, bettas/Siamese fighting fish, and paradise fish), Toothcarps (guppies, swordtails, platies, black mollies, and killifish), Catfish, and others (loaches and Chinese algae eaters). The purchasing, maintenance, and feeding of fish are described in considerable details, and the author gives a basic overview of breeding and keeping fish healthy as well. Resources, glossary, and index conclude the book.

The book, Electrophysiology and Fish Behavior embraces 19 chapters having two main parts, namely, electrophysiology and fish behavior. In the first part, the history and behavior of electric fishes were traced out together with the application of electricity for catching fishes. The response of fishes in an electric field and the physiological mechanisms and electrical principles involved in it were correlated thereafter. The empirical studies on the reactions of cold water fishes, warm water Indian and marine fishes and the hybrids in different forms of electrical field (DC, AC, Pulsed DC, Rectangular and Square wave form) by various investigators have been described in details along with the physical, chemical, biological and environmental factors responsible for the intensity of such reactions. The effect of electrical stimulation on the heart beat and body muscle of fish were determined and recorded in the book together with the harmful effect of electric exposure on fertilized and developing eggs, hatchlings, juveniles, older fishes and the man who handles the electric current during investigation and research in the laboratory and field. In the second part of the book, role of olfaction in fish behavior, especially for feeding, stimuli associated with danger, reproductive cues and social interaction been highlighted. Fish behavior in aquarium (in captivity) and in the wild describing their adaptation in different ecosystems were documented in the relevant chapters of the book. Diversity of fishes in different ecosystems and their cooperative behavior with special stress on learning and memory were given in the book. In the last chapter, examples were putforth for applied fish behaviors. The book will be useful for the students, teachers and researchers working on this line.

“A necessary book for anyone truly interested in what we take from the sea to eat, and how, and why.” —Sam Sifton, The New York Times Book Review Acclaimed author of American Catch and The Omega Princple and life-long fisherman, Paul Greenberg takes us on a journey, examining the four fish that dominate our menus: salmon, sea bass, cod, and tuna. Investigating the forces that get fish to our dinner tables, Greenberg reveals our damaged relationship with the ocean and its inhabitants. Just three decades ago, nearly everything we ate from the sea was wild. Today, rampant overfishing and an unprecedented biotech revolution have brought us to a point where wild and farmed fish occupy equal parts of a complex marketplace. Four Fish offers a way for us to move toward a future in which healthy and sustainable seafood is the rule rather than the exception.