Do fish see colour?

[Dick Dastardly]

Interesting stuff Phone.Are you saying then that you think a high percentage of the carp we catch regularly here in the UK are in fact blinded/suffer eye damage due to the exposure to light and we are simply not aware of it?

 

I agree that in cases where Ive seen carp to definitely be blind it doesn't seemed to have bothered them that much. So therefore could accept that unless we could see some eye damage we would never know.

 

If it was proved to be so here in the UK I wonder what the carp world would do? I suspect that regardless of any evidence many would simply refuse to accept it!

 

Would Danny Fairbrass have to develop and market "Carp Goggles"? (Or maybe Pallatrax would beat him to it by bringing out "Shadze"! Not taking the pi$$ either.....well maybe just a bit

 

Also does bright sun light affect/damage other fish species sight? Its very hard to accept or even contemplate as in many UK waters very few of the carp are never caught and in fact most are caught regularly over a long period of time.

Edited August 12, 2011 by BUDGIE

[Phone]

Budgie,

 

100% positive there is optic nerve damage at some level. It's not hard to prove if you are willing, in the name of science, to sacrifice a number of fish. Point is, as you pointed out again, it doesn't matter to carp. I can't address other species execpt by opinion. I think the pupil of the eye in most fish is fixed. Not sure about the sensitivity of the optic nerve being equal. I suspect many species devote more "brain" area to sight than carp. Some predatory species depend heavily on sight for survival (don't they?).

 

Phone

[Steve Walker]

Youtube Video ->

[chavender]

Youtube Video ->

 

poor little thing ,he's having too fight of looters all by himself ,he gets stuck in ,going strait for the gills ,,vicious little buggers sticklebacks they see red and go mental.

 

the trick there is ,the lower half of the decoy fish where red ,like the red breast area of sticklebacks ,the ickle fish obviously saw the decoy as another three spined stickleback and defended his nest/territory ,but it ignored the real fish as it wasn't a threat ,being a different species it wasn't in competition with the little stickleback for habitat / food .

[Steve Walker]

Yep - the gist of Tinbergen's experiment was that male sticklebacks were more interested in the red belly than in how realistic the model was.

 

http://www.psywww.com/intropsych/ch08_animals/releasers.html

 

Sticklebacks can definitely distinguish between colours!

[Phone]

Steve,

 

I believe I read something like that in various species of raptor birds of prey also.

 

Phone

[Steve Walker]

Quite likely, Tinbergen did some work with birds too. I'm trying to remember lectures from nearly twenty years ago, mind, so I may not remember exactly. I do remember finding the animal behaviour theory too reductive and mechanistic for my liking, though, so my memories may also be swayed by not agreeing with everything we were being taught!

[Vagabond]

Yep, male sticklebacks will attack anything red

 

So will male robin redbreasts

 

So, for that matter will Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City football supporters.

 

Puts me off using red maggots .....

[Steve Walker]

Yep, male sticklebacks will attack anything red

 

If the story is true, Tinbergen noticed that they were trying to attack a post office van through the glass!

 

I'm not sure if football hooligans chase vans, but I wouldn't be surprised...

[gozzer]

Budgie,

 

100% positive there is optic nerve damage at some level. It's not hard to prove if you are willing, in the name of science, to sacrifice a number of fish. Point is, as you pointed out again, it doesn't matter to carp. I can't address other species execpt by opinion. I think the pupil of the eye in most fish is fixed. Not sure about the sensitivity of the optic nerve being equal. I suspect many species devote more "brain" area to sight than carp. Some predatory species depend heavily on sight for survival (don't they?).

 

Phone

 

Are you sure you haven't got a patent out for 'Carpy Sunglasses', Mr Phone? I can see them becoming the next 'must have' piece of kit for our carp obsessed brethren. A nice little earner once the word gets out.

 

As for what colour carp might be be able to see, I've no idea. I just know that the way that angling seems to revolve around carp makes me see red.

 

John.