[neilep (OP)]

Dearest Pisceanologists,

As a sheepy I of course just luff to swim upside down amongst other fisheys in large aquariums every day. It's all I think about really.  Out of all the ways to swim upside down .......swimming upside down amongst fish in a large aquarium is my all time favourite way to swim !


So, ewe can imagine my surprise when whilst swimming upside down in Bournemouth's Oceanarium this week that I perchance encountered these two fisheys doing the exact same thing.




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Two Fisheys I Met That Swim Upside Down !

Nice eh ?


Now I know why I do it....cos I enjoy it.....but unfortunately I just don't talk "fish" so I could not ask them directly. I did try with the medium of mime but I guess my take on contemporary mime as a medium to communicate with fisheys was not a success....so....no luck there !

So, can ewe tell me why these fish enjoy swimming upside down ?...oh...and they swam like that all the time that I observed them....and this was for quite a few minutes !!

Cos, I tell ewe...I just do not know !...do ewe know ?


Hugs et Les Shmisheys


mwah mwah mwah



Neil
Little Fishey On A Dishy
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[Dasyatis]

Most fishes are oriented dorsal-side up through one of two (or possibly both) responses: Dorsal Light Response and Gravitational Response. The fish you point out in the picture belong to a group known as the Upside-Down Catfish (for obvious reasons  [] ). They respond in a completely different way, know as Ventral Substrate Response. This response system drives their behavior of orienting themselves based on objects or substrates near its ventral surface (underside). This is why the ones on the bottom are dorsal-side up.

Now in a free-water situation (no substrate or objects around) they swim completely upside-down. This is due to the physiology of their inner ear, which is more science than you want to know, but to make a long story short, the signal sent to the brain is switched, so that its gravitational response is the opposite of what we would think of as normal. Hope this answers your question, and perhaps others that know more about the specifics can chime in  [].
 

[imatfaal]

Great Answer Dasyatis - I must admit the name upside-down catfish drew and audible "no" from me, but I googled it and...

Trouble is we are now gonna have an orientationally challenged sheep on our hands

[neilep (OP)]

Most fishes are oriented dorsal-side up through one of two (or possibly both) responses: Dorsal Light Response and Gravitational Response. The fish you point out in the picture belong to a group known as the Upside-Down Catfish (for obvious reasons  [] ). They respond in a completely different way, know as Ventral Substrate Response. This response system drives their behavior of orienting themselves based on objects or substrates near its ventral surface (underside). This is why the ones on the bottom are dorsal-side up.

Now in a free-water situation (no substrate or objects around) they swim completely upside-down. This is due to the physiology of their inner ear, which is more science than you want to know, but to make a long story short, the signal sent to the brain is switched, so that its gravitational response is the opposite of what we would think of as normal. Hope this answers your question, and perhaps others that know more about the specifics can chime in  [].
 

THANK EWE VERY MUCH DASYATIS for your very kind explanation.A great answer indeed . Fascinating !...I too googled 'upside down catfish' as I could not quite believe that this was their actual label !..but...ewe're right of course !

Wikipedia says "One theory accounts for this unusual behavior as a feeding strategy. In the wild, it often grazes on the underside of submerged branches and logs, and swimming upside down makes these areas more accessible."

Thank ewe Dasyatis !...and welcome to the forum !

[neilep (OP)]

Great Answer Dasyatis - I must admit the name upside-down catfish drew and audible "no" from me, but I googled it and...

Trouble is we are now gonna have an orientationally challenged sheep on our hands

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A sincerely genuine bona-fide non doctered-in-any-way photo of my swimming with upsdie down fisheys !