πŸ‘πŸ’¨ Do Fish Fart?

Yes, some fish such as herring and sand tiger sharks fart. In the case of Herring fish, bubble expulsion along with the high-pitched sound can be observed from the anal duct region (i.e. from the gut or swim bladder). They use fart sound to communicate with each other at night. Among sharks, sand tiger sharks fart to deflate their swim bladder to adjust depth in the ocean.

Do Fish Ever Fart?

We know that humans fart because of gas buildup in the body. The reason for gas buildup can be swallowed air or the gas produced in the stomach and the small intestine. Have you ever wondered do fish fart?

Well, the answer is yes, some fish do fart. In fish, fart plays a greater role than just getting rid of gases. Some fish release gas to adjust the depth or to communicate. Humans fart to get rid of gases produced in the digestive tract. However, no evidence has been yet found that will prove that all fish farts to get rid of gases produced in their digestive tract. Sand sharks and herring fish are known to fart.

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Do Herring Fart?

Yes, herring fish fart but not to get rid of indigestion discomfort. Biologists have found that herring fish farts to communicate with each other. It is found that herring fish release bubbles from their anal duct region along with a high-pitched raspberry sound. This farting sound is a mode of communication among the group of herring fish.

Herring Fish, Image Credit: Duane Raver

This high pitched farting sound produced by the Pacific and Atlantic herring is termed as Fast Repetitive Tick (FRT) sounds. These FRT sounds have a broadband pulse in the range of 1.7–22 kHz which lasts for between 0.6 s and 7.6 s. These sounds were mostly produced during night time to stay together to form a shoal.

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Do Sharks Fart?

Yes, some sharks such as sand tiger sharks do fart. Sand sharks gulp air from the surface of the water into their swim bladder. The swim bladder is an air bladder that is filled with gases that helps fish to maintain buoyancy. These sand sharks deflate their swim bladder by farting out to adjust their depth in the ocean without wasting energy in swimming.

Sand Tiger Shark, Jwhferguson

Does Pupfish Fart?

Yes, Bolson pupfish fish also farts. The diet of these freshwater fish makes it necessary for them to fart. Pupfish mainly depend on algae which produce gas in the fish intestine. The gas inflates the fish body which causes fish to float on the surface. Pupfish fart to release this gas so that they can easily sink back to safety. Therefore, for Bolson pupfish, it is necessary to fart for survival.

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Take away

So we can conclude that some fish do fart. However, farting in fish may have various different reasons compared to farting in humans. Fish like herring fish fart to communicate and form shoal while sand shark adjusts their depth by farting.

Professor Atom

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Professor Atom is a science enthusiast and alumni of IIT Bombay. According to him, every question can be solved with curiosity and mind mapping. ( Curiosity = Asking Questions = Learning )

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