Can aquarium noises bother fish?

[Blue Meg]

I’ve never thought about this, but with all the skimmers, power heads, return pumps, etc, the water in the tank has to be pretty noisy. Are reef tanks ever too noisy for fish?

 

[Timfish]

Good question! It seems most animals acclimate just fine to all the noise. Oceans can be pretty noisy too but I'm pretty sure reefs aren't as loud as our tanks are.

 

[blaxsun]

Sound travels differently underwater, but I suspect that most reef tanks are actually quieter than the real marine environment. Most of the noise we hear never really makes it into the tank.

 

[austibella]

Great question. I know when ever I went snorkeling it was so quiet except in my head I heard the Jaws movie theme!! Got myself paranoid and got back in my boat. L.O.L. hmm now I'm wondering what my tank sounds like to my fish...

 

[blaxsun]

Underwater no one can hear you scream...

 

[Dom]

Take a deep breath. Hold it. Stick your head in the tank. Let us know what you hear.

 

[blaxsun]

 

[austibella]

Take a deep breath. Hold it. Stick your head in the tank. Let us know what you hear.

I was thinking the same thing! I could fit in my tank but I know for sure my fish will beat the crap out of me whipping their tails in my face especially my big tomatoe clown and all my tangs in my face! My file fish would definitely be the one to bite me he nips at my hand sometimes. L.O.L I'm laughing just thinking about it

 

[Wyvern]

I was thinking the same thing! I could fit in my tank but I know for sure my fish will beat the crap out of me whipping their tails in my face especially my big tomatoe clown and all my tangs in my face! My file fish would definitely be the one to bite me he nips at my hand sometimes. L.O.L I'm laughing just thinking about it

Assert your dominance.

 

[Wyvern]

I wonder about this myself, my gyre is audible several feet away.

IIRC most fish "feel" sound so it hopefully wouldn't be as annoying as "Wheeeo reeeoo wheeeo reeeoo."

 

[blaxsun]

 

[Acros]

Nature documentaries often mention that reefs are noisy places.

Here is a quick google search result. https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/02/world/speakers-dead-coral-reef-fish-scn/index.html

 

[Neros503]

I've been wonder about this for awhile as well. You can hear the buzzing from the return pump and the sloshing of water from more than a room away. My fish act differently when I turn off the return pump, but I don't know if that's from the change in flow, or something to do with sounds. All I know is that the aquarium noises sure bother me

 

[Cory]

Heres what i found:

Fish hear, but their "ears" are on the inside. Bony fishes detect vibrations through their "earstones" called otoliths. Both people and fish use parts of their ears to help them with balance.

My emperor angelfish makes grunting sounds sometimes. Im sure other fish hear it too. Weather they are stressed i dont know.

 

[Cory]

And this:

Fishes are often exposed to environmental sounds such as those associated with shipping, seismic experiments, sonar and/or aquaculture pump systems. While efforts have been made to document the effects of such anthropogenic(human-generated) sounds on marine mammals, the effects of excess noise on fishes are poorly understood. We examined the short- and long-term effects of increased ambient sound on the stress and hearing of goldfish (Carassius auratus; a hearing specialist). We reared fish under either quiet(110-125 dB re 1 μPa) or noisy (white noise, 160-170 dB re 1 μPa)conditions and examined animals after specific durations of noise exposure. We assessed noise-induced alterations in physiological stress by measuring plasma cortisol and glucose levels and in hearing capabilities by using auditory brainstem responses. Noise exposure did not produce long-term physiological stress responses in goldfish, but a transient spike in plasma cortisol did occur within 10 min of the noise onset. Goldfish had significant threshold shifts in hearing after only 10 min of noise exposure, and these shifts increased linearly up to approximately 28 dB after 24 h of noise exposure. Further noise exposure did not increase threshold shifts, suggesting an asymptote of maximal hearing loss within 24 h. After 21 days of noise exposure, it took goldfish 14 days to fully recover to control hearing levels. This study shows that hearing-specialist fishes may be susceptible to noise-induced stress and hearing loss.

 

[Karen00]

If you want a very good read about this check out this article: https://dosits.org/animals/sound-reception/how-do-fish-hear/. For a lot of fish it just comes across as vibrations. Swim bladders also affect their "hearing".

 

[Nano Chris]

This

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

Similarly I wonder about vibration from pumps. Probably less an issue for people with sumps but when I turn on all of the equipment in my AIO I can feel a slight vibration in the wall dividing the display from the back chambers. None of the fish act bothered (they seem more concerned when I turn everything off like for water changes) but I still wonder how they experience it, if at all.

 

[ultraArcite]

Sound travels differently underwater

Yes it does, liquid is a better medium for sound and solids are an even better medium.

most reef tanks are actually quieter than the real marine environment

Also correct! Apple TV+ has a documentary on COVID's affect on nature (humans staying at home), and the portion on sound in the oceans was crazy.