Do fish hear

A.� Yes, like all vertebrates fish have sense organs that help them understand their environment, including ears to pick up sounds.

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Q.� Where are their ears

A.� Fish have an inner ear enclosed in a chamber on each side of the head, rather than ears like ours that are open to the outside world.

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Each ear consists of a group of pouches and tube like canals.

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Q.� Without outer ears, how do they pick up sound

A.� Their inner ears pick up vibrations that pass through their body via body tissue.

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Some fish have a really keen sense of hearing thanks to an inbuilt hearing aid. Goldfish have something called Weberian ossicles. These ossicles are connected to the fish's swim bladder.

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As sound passes through the water, the swim bladder vibrates and these vibrations are carried along the Weberian ossicles to the ears.

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Q.� Where do the vibrations come from

A.� Water is a really good conductor of sound, much better than air and the vibrations travel easily through it.

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Q.� Do fish use sound to communicate

A.� Yes, aquatic animals and fish produce sound, taking advantage of water's efficient conductivity of noises.

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The toadfish male fish makes a strange buzzing noise to attract female mates.

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Q.� Do fish use their ears for anything else

A.� Yes, similarly to us, a fish also relies on its ears for its sense of balance.

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A fish's inner ear contains a fluid and several hard, free-moving ear stones, known as otoliths. If the fish starts to swim in anything other than its normal upright, level position, the fluid and otoliths move over sensitive nerve endings in the ears. Messages are then sent to the brain that something is wrong and the brain sends messages to the fin muscles, which move the fish back to its normal position.

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Want to know about an animal's senses Click here to ask The AnswerBank.

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by Lisa Cardy