anatomy of a fish

[Kittycat]

Have you guys ever noticed your fish looking like they're yawning? Is there a biological explanation why they do that? Just curious...

 

[GuppyDude]

yea ur not alone, my fish do it to, my bettas guppys and even my corries, its intersting, i guess they do it the same reason we do it ( what ever that is )

 

[hellohefalump]

i guess they do it the same reason we do it ( what ever that is )

humans do it because it increases oxygen to the brain, which helps keep us awake.

but... why would a fish want to do this? maybe they're stretching their jaws?

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

my fish do it sometimes too. havent seen them do it in ages though
i have even seen my bnose do it once or twice

i have no idea why they do it though

 

[rvm]

mine do it from time to time as well. looks really funny when my shovelnose does it. he's got one mammouth mouth!!!!

 

[DeadlyAlliance]

I have never seen my mollie do that but im going to try and look and see if she does it.

 

[Kittycat]

LOL, maybe they are just stretching. I find it cute

 

[LadyMinion]

Martha does it sometimes - she pulls back the skin and reveals her teeth.Looks like a donkey smiling.

 

[Bignose]

From Burgess, Bailey and Exell's (1998) A-Z of Tropical Fish Diseases and Health Problems "Yawning -- Fish are occasionally seen to stretch thier mouths open in a manner comparable to human yawning. This behavior is little understoon, but may be a response to gill irritation, perhaps in an attempt to dislodge some irritant by flushing water through the gills."

Then there is a list of possible causes, all related to poor water quality. Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate in elevated levels, Oxygen depletion, excess Cardon Dioxide, Poisoning, Gill Parasites.

Basically, it looks like unless it is repeated often and/or accompanied by other signs of stress like clamped fins, or shimmying, or scratching and flashing, it is just 'one of those things' fish do.

 

[Dwarfs]

My leaf fish's mouth is so big it's scary