Uploaded January 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Fish communicate with each other in a secret language of grunts, growls, chirps and pops, researchers in New Zealand have discovered.
Far from being a place of deep silence, the underwater world is abuzz with the sound of fish sweet-talking the opposite sex, warning others of danger, giving directions, and general background chatter.
Predators may even hunt out prey by intercepting fish talk, researcher Shahriman Ghazali of Auckland University said.
"All fish can hear but not all can make sound -- pops and other sounds made by vibrating their swim bladder, a muscle they can contract," he said.
Decoding these sounds could give us an insight into secret lives of this voracious invasive species – and help us keep tabs on its spread.
Many fish produce sounds to communicate with each other as low-pitched noises travel far underwater. “It’s a dominant mode of communication,” says Alex Bogdanoff at North Carolina State University.
Fish communicate with each other in a secret language of grunts, growls, chirps and pops, researchers in New Zealand have discovered.
Far from being a place of deep silence, the underwater world is abuzz with the sound of fish sweet-talking the opposite sex, warning others of danger, giving directions, and general background chatter.
Predators may even hunt out prey by intercepting fish talk, researcher Shahriman Ghazali of Auckland University said.
"All fish can hear but not all can make sound -- pops and other sounds made by vibrating their swim bladder, a muscle they can contract," he said.
Decoding these sounds could give us an insight into secret lives of this voracious invasive species – and help us keep tabs on its spread.
Many fish produce sounds to communicate with each other as low-pitched noises travel far underwater. “It’s a dominant mode of communication,” says Alex Bogdanoff at North Carolina State University.
